Angel's Place
by FaeMelody
Summary: "All I can think of is Harry somewhere alone, all by himself for five years!" Emmeline confessed tearfully. "I promised Lily I'd look after him but I don't even know what continent he's on!" "Albus didn't tell you?" Minerva questioned in surprise. "He's with Lily's sister!" And Emmeline wouldn't very well leave her unofficial Godson with Petunia for the rest of his childhood...
1. Chapter 1

Ten-year-old Harry sat chewing his lip nervously, hands smoothing down his trousers over and over again as he stared at the letter on the table in front of him. Outside, an owl hooted at the silvery moon just visible over the top of the trees that stretched up towards the midnight sky.

In the corner, the clock ticked overly loudly and Harry found himself counting the seconds as they passed, one of his fingers tapping with each new noise. He stilled, however, when he heard the front door open and his head snapped up as he got hurriedly to his feet, moving across the kitchen into the hallway where he could see the silhouette of a slim, blonde woman hanging her coat on a hook by the door. " _Maman_?"

The woman gasped, whirling around. "Harry!" a flash of her wand had the candle on the dresser nearby lighting up so that they could see each other. "You startled me- Why aren't you in bed? It's late."

Harry fiddled with the hem of his pyjama top. "I needed to talk to you."

"What's wrong?" his mother moved forward, eyes scanning over him to check for injuries even as her wand slipped into her hand. Harry couldn't help but grin.

"Nothings _wrong._ It's just… my Hogwarts letter came." He explained. Understanding flashed across her face.

"Oh…" she breathed. "Well?"

Harry bit his lip. "I don't know." He confessed. Her face softened, and she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

"It's your choice baby. Always yours."

"I know. I think that's the problem." He sighed wryly, leaning into her. She smiled sadly out of his view, stroking a hand over his messy hair. "Will you be angry if I choose to go?"

"No." she answered instantly, drawing back to she could look at him. "Harry, I loved Hogwarts. I had some of the best times of my life there, and I would support you one hundred percent if you choose to go. And equally, if you don't I'll support you in that as well." Harry sighed, inclining his head. His mother smiled at him gently. "Would you like some hot chocolate?"

Harry nodded with a grin, trailing after her into the kitchen. "Mistress Emmeline!" came a squeaky voice from the corner. They both looked around.

"Good evening Missy." Emmeline greeted warmly. "Did we wake you?"

"Oh no!" The elf shook her head furiously. "Missy was awake. Can I's be helping yous?"

"No, thank you. Go to bed, Harry and I will be doing so ourselves soon enough." Emmeline encouraged. The elf nodded, bidding them goodnight before vanishing with a click of her fingers and Harry slid into a chair at the table, returning to stare at the letter as his mother moved around the kitchen.

"Do you think my birth parents would be angry if I didn't go?" He asked after a while.

"No sweetheart. They would want you to be happy, no matter what." Emmeline replied gently, placing a mug in front of him and settling into her own chair. Harry nodded silently. They sat in comfortable silence, broken only by sips of their drinks.

"I… I think…" Harry started shyly. His mother tilted her head. "I think I want to go. I mean, I can come home if I don't like it, right?"

"In a heartbeat." Emmeline promised, taking his hand. Harry grinned at her.

"Then let's do it. What's the worst that can happen?"

Emmeline groaned. "Oh Merlin, haven't you learnt by now to never say that?"

* * *

"But _Maman_ , why can't we go after dance practice?" Harry heard his sister complain as he came running down the stairs.

"Because we need several hours at _Le Boulevard_ to get everything Harry needs and I won't have you walking home from practice alone."

" _Maman,_ we live in the most boring area of Paris. What is going to happen?"

"Rosalie, that is enough. I've told you twice, I am not telling you again." Emmeline sighed in frustration, looking up to see Harry at the door. "Got your letters?" Harry nodded, holding them up for her to see. "Good- don't lose them. Missy, we're going! We'll be back by dark. Hopefully."

She ushered Harry and Rosalie out the door, shutting it firmly behind and glancing up and down the street. "Okay let's go."

The nearest floo point was at a small pub on the other side of the park close to their home, and Harry couldn't help joining his sister in racing at full speed up the street in the morning sunshine. "Be careful!" Emmeline called but she was laughing too.

"I'm going to beat you!" Rosalie called over her shoulder, her blonde braids flying behind her.

"Never!" Harry yelled back, putting on a burst of speed and managing to catch her up just as she hit the old oak tree. They both collapsed to the ground, panting and laughing.

"You're really going to Hogwarts?" Rosalie asked him. He nodded.

"Yeah, I am." He reached to tug on her plait. "I'll be home at christmas though. You won't get rid of me that easily, little sister."

She grinned. "I'm going to miss you. And if you tell anyone I said that I will hit you." She smiled sweetly. Harry chuckled.

"Wouldn't dare." He promised.

"Rosalie Marlene, if you get grass stains on that dress I'll make you wash it without help!" Emmeline called out as she came into view. Both kids knew that 'help' referred to magic. Rose glanced down at the jean dress she was wearing and rolled her eyes.

"You wouldn't even see a grass stain." She complained under her breath but got to her feet anyway. "You never tell Harry to be careful of grass stains."

"That's because Harry doesn't have a tendency to ruin everything he puts on by lunchtime." Emmeline teased her, dropping a kiss to her head. "Come on."

The three arrived quickly at the pub, _Le Lutin Lilas_ and waved to Monsieur Henri behind the bar. "Harry first, then you Rosalie." Emmeline ordered. "Wait for me on the other end."

" _Oui_ _maman_." The children sighed together. Harry grabbed a handful of floo powder.

" _Le boulevard!_ ' he called and stepped into the fireplace. The usual dizzying rush went past, snapshots of lives that flew by more quickly than he could register them until he felt himself slow and then he was on the floor on the other end, coughing and spluttering.

" _Bonjour Monsieur._ " Came the amused voice from behind him. He looked up, peering through the dirty lenses of his glasses.

" _Bonjour Marie._ " He groaned, taking the offered hand and scrambling to his feet. He choked slightly at the soot, but then felt a whoosh of magic over him and blinked up at Marie, who was standing with her wand and a smirk. Before he could say anything, the floo lit up again and Rosalie tumbled out, caught by Marie before she could hit the floor.

" _Bonjour Marie. Merci._ " Rosalie greeted her, standing straight and brushing a loose lock of hair from her eyes.

" _Bonjour_." Marie smiled, cleaning her off as well just as their mother stepped through, already clean and without a hair out of place.

"How do you do that?" Harry complained good naturedly. She smiled.

"Practice. _Bonjour Marie._ " She greeted the older woman, exchanging pleasantries in fast paced French before bidding her goodbye and taking Rosalie by the hand. "Come along you two."

" _Au revoir Marie._ " She and Harry called out as they were tugged from the pub, Harry's own hand quickly being gripped by his mother when he drifted towards the broom merchants.

"Maybe later." His mother told him as they headed towards the apothecary. Emmeline bought her own ingredients while Harry went to find a cauldron and beginner's potions set.

"Beginner's." He wrinkled his nose.

"Careful Harry. You do want your head to fit through the door don't you?" Rose teased. He stuck his tongue out at her but kept quiet as they continued around the rest of the shops.

"We'll have to get your robes in London." His mother noted absently. "They won't sell Hogwarts robes here… we'll get you a wand there as well."

Harry looked at her in confusion. "Why do I need another wand?"

"Because turning up to Hogwarts with a French made wand several years old might provoke a few questions we don't want to answer." Emmeline pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

Harry looked sheepish. "Oh…"

They walked on through the street until outside of the bookstore Emmeline's watch began to vibrate. "Bother." She sighed. "I need to deal with this." She eyed them both. "Can you two be trusted to fetch the books alone?"

"Yes!" Harry and Rose nodded vigorously. Their mother didn't look convinced.

"Okay. Harry, if they don't have the English versions of the ones you need…"

"I don't mind the French versions." Harry assured her. "Will remind me of home."

"Alright then. One extra one each!" she called over her shoulder as she pressed her fingers to her watch. Harry and Rosalie grinned at each other.

"Half each?" Rose offered. Harry grinned, ripping the list in half and handing one piece to her before he wandered off into the shelves and lost himself amongst the pages.

He loved books, his whole family did and it had become custom for his mother to buy them a book every time they came into central Paris. Harry found the books he needed with ease, mostly in French but he didn't mind that. He also found some battered copies of other books that looked useful- he put them in his cauldron to ask his mother about later and went to browse the other volumes until he heard Emmeline calling his name.

"I'm here!" he answered, poking his head around the shelf to find her just in front of him.

"Find everything?" she checked. He nodded.

"Rosie has the other half."

His mother looked around. "Rosalie? _Oú est-tu?_ "

" _Ici Maman!_ "

They followed her voice and found her sitting on the floor looking troubled, a book in her hands. "Rosie?"

She looked up, handing the book in her hands to her mother who frowned as she read the cover. Harry peeked over her shoulder.

 _"_ _With the defeat of the greatest wizard of our time, many wizards and witches now ask what comes next."_ He read. " _Harry Potter is hailed as the saviour of the wizarding world- however this author asks what danger has he been put in with this title? Is it possible that-?"_

"Enough." His mother interrupted. She placed the book back on the shelf and helped Rosalie to her feet. "Ignore it- it's just groundless speculation. Let's go and pay."

Emmeline had always been perfectly frank with Harry about the danger he may be in, from Voldemort or his followers. He remembered her sitting down at explaining the history to him, right up to his parents' deaths and the current danger. He'd been inconsolable over the fact that he might have placed her and Rose in danger.

"Harry James." Emmeline had said firmly. "I knew perfectly well what I was getting myself and Rosie into at the start of all this. You are not at fault here, not in any way."

"You could be hurt because of me, because I'm here! Without me you'd be safe!" Harry had protested vehemently. Emmeline shook her head.

"I could be hurt crossing the road tomorrow. I could be hurt everyday at work. I could be hurt making dinner tonight. Every one of us risks our lives just by being alive honey. Safe is relative."

"But what if you get hurt? Or Rosie? What if he comes after me again?"

"Then we'll make sure you're ready for him if he does." Emmeline had comforted gently.

And she had. Somehow, she'd balanced Harry and Rosie's childhoods between being normal children and preparing them for the worst, not that either them had known it at first.

Both had attended muggle school during the day, leading to them easily becoming fluent in French, something their mother was particularly happy about. After school, they had a range of clubs and activities each night. On Mondays it was gymnastics which Rosalie loved and Harry disliked immensely, on Tuesday's Krav Maga, something they were both good at. Wednesday's was dance, and swimming was on Thursdays, which each week Harry would bounce happily to and Rosalie loathed. Each attended music lessons on Fridays- Rosalie excelled with any instrument, although she preferred piano or singing while Harry, after much trial and error found that he was fairly proficient with a guitar or violin. On Saturdays, Rosalie attended a performing arts school while Harry played football at local club. They would walk home together in the early afternoon, clean up and eat something before settling down in the study with their mother. The study was actually in the attic, a warm and cosy room of gentle red and yellow filled with bookshelves lining every wall and three desks- a larger one tucked into one corner, facing the room and covered with papers and two smaller ones side by side nestled between two bookshelves. There were several comfortable seats placed around the fireplace as well. Here, Emmeline would teach them magic.

Practical work was carefully performed only under the strict supervision of their mother or occasionally Missy. A lot of their work was theory based, ranging from history to arithmancy. Occasionally, herbology required trips to the garden and potions took place in their mother's personal lab in the cellar but otherwise even astronomy occurred in the attic, which was warded carefully in case of stray spells, as well as blocking the events in the attic from the prying eyes of anyone watching which unfortunately included the ministry and the underage magic act. "The rules are slightly less strict than in Britain." Their mother had explained. "Some underage magic is allowed under certain circumstances... Teaching the two of you early isn't one of them however. And although they wouldn't be able to tell who cast the spell, we should try not to attract too much attention." But Emmeline saw no reason in preventing them from practicing the spells if they were careful, and so the lessons continued.

"But Emmy." Harry had asked worriedly after about six months after he'd first arrived in France. "You're not actually teaching us much defence. Being able to dance is all well and good, but how is that going to help if the death eaters come?"

Emmeline had smiled gently at him, brushing a hand over his hair as Rosalie watched them anxiously. "Baby, everything you and Rosie do is about defence." She told him.

"How?"

"You dance because it makes you graceful and light on your feet, something you will need if you ever find yourself in a fight. Dance gives you the ability to dodge faster, to move quicker and more efficiently should you ever need to. Swimming is just for the obvious- you both need to learn how because magic may not always be around to save you. Krav Maga is to give you an upper hand- I've yet to meet any witch or wizard who uses anything but a wand, so you will not only have a skill they don't but also an element of surprise. Gymnastics makes you flexible and graceful, much like dance- it's easier to dodge spells, cast them and it helps your balance which in turn improves your dance and martial arts. All of these along with football keep you fit and healthy, able to run if you need it- yes, run, don't look at me like that. You will not always be able to fight Harry, sometimes the other person will simply be faster, more powerful or better trained and running away is not cowardly, it's just common sense. The music is an outlet for you, yes, but it also improves your concentration and your ability to do multiple tasks at once; your fingers doing different things exercises your brain and music uses the same parts of your brain as other subjects like math. All of this has been about defence Harry- just because I'm trying to give you a childhood and not training you to be a soldier doesn't mean I'm leaving you defenceless."

Harry nodded and smiled shyly at her, sliding his arms around her waist in silent apology while Rosie just smiled cheerfully at him.

Sunday's were different altogether- Emmeline wouldn't have to work and so she would take them on trips. Harry lost count of the hours spent in the louvre or other tourist attractions, and magic allowed them to visit other places just as easily. London, New York and Australia were some of the more memorable trips, although they'd been all over the world. Those bigger trips were usually saved for special occasions though- picnics or trips to the zoo or park were just as popular.

His childhood may not have been normal, but he'd loved it and wouldn't have changed it for the world.


	2. Chapter 2

The summer he turned eleven had passed even more quickly than usual and before Harry knew it September had arrived, and his mother was rousing him from bed and telling him to dress in muggle clothes. The weekend after Harry's birthday, they'd travelled to London to buy his robes and wand (an experience Harry hoped he'd never have to repeat). While there, Emmeline had bought him a beautiful snowy owl for his birthday which he'd named Hedwig, on the condition he cared for her and used her to write to them.

"Now do you have everything you need?" Emmeline checked once they'd arrived on the platform, attempting to smooth down his unruly hair. Harry smiled and nodded nervously.

"I'll be fine." He said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. By the look on his mothers face, he guessed he hadn't succeeded. Behind them, the train whistled and Harry heard the shout of "all aboard" go up.

He turns to face Rosie, who threw herself at him. "Don't forget to write!" She reminded him as she embraced him fiercely, looking at him sadly as they pulled apart.

"I won't." He promised before he turned to his mother and fell into her waiting arms.

"I'm going to miss you." He whispered.

"I'll miss you too baby, more than you'll ever know. Now listen to me Harry." She drew back and cupped his face with one hand. "You are my son, no matter what anyone else says, okay? Maybe not by blood, but certainly by heart and by law. If it's found out I adopted you, there are going to be people who tell you I'm not, that you're betraying Lily and James-"

"I don't care what they say." Harry interrupted. "I'm just lucky enough to have three parents, to have two mothers. There are no rules that say I'm only allowed two, or that to have you I have to forget them. And if other people don't understand that, then that's their problem."

Emmeline smiled at him and drew him into another hug. Quite frankly, she thought, it was a miracle nobody knew already that he'd been adopted. Either nobody was watching him and hadn't registered the magic at his address all those years ago, or Petunia and Vernon had lied to whoever had come looking. She wasn't sure which one she'd prefer. "I am so proud of you." She whispered to the boy in his arms. "Be safe, Harry. Be happy, and most of all _be kind._ "

"I will." A whistle pierced the air, and the flurry of activity on the platform grew wilder.

"Go!" Emmeline urged, and Harry suspected she was trying not to cry. She wouldn't, he knew, not until later when Rose was asleep and she was alone. Harry rushed onto the train and into the empty cabin he'd pushed his trunk into earlier, hurrying to the window to wave at his mother and sister as the train began to move.

"I love you both! _Au revoir_!" He called, waving frantically and they waved back, Emmeline wrapping an arm around Rosalie as they did.

"We love you too! See you at Christmas!"

He pressed himself to the window, watching them for as long as he could before collapsing back into the seat. "Just you and me now Hedwig." He said softly, glancing at the owl who hooted. Fear and nerves flickered through as he realised he was really alone. He hadn't been apart from either his mother or sister since he'd first met them- one of them had always been with him. The knowledge he was now separated by an entire sea was... Uncomfortable. As he leant his head against the window, his eyes began to drift closed- three of them flooing to London with a trunk and an owl in tow had required time- and he barely noticed when he began to drift off.

 _1982_

 _"I don't care about blood wards! I don't care about protection charms or death eaters or your bloody greater good! Where is Harry?!" Emmeline demanded. Albus Dumbledore regarded her calmly._

 _"Miss Vance, I understand you're grieving for James and Lily but please try to think rationally." He said gently. "Harry is safe, and protected. Is that not the best thing for him?"_

 _"The best thing for him would be to be with someone who loves him." Emmeline replied heatedly, "I already know he's not with Remus and everyone else is dead or as good as! So where did you put him? I have a right to know!"_

 _"Ah, but you do not." The headmaster reminded her. "You are Harry's godmother by name only- I believe Alice Longbottom is on the paperwork."_

 _"You know full well that James and Lily divided us up like that so Harry would have_ someone _if the worst should happen." Emmeline hissed angrily. "Sirius and me through him and Frank and Alice through her."_

 _"Yes." Dumbledore agreed. "But that does not give you any legal right over Harry whatsoever."_

 _"And what about their wills? You're telling me they didn't put contingency plans for Harry in there?" An uncomfortable silence met her question. "You overruled it didn't you. You buried the will, went against their wishes and did whatever the hell you wanted anyway."_

 _Emmeline clenched her fists furiously, eyes flashing at the old wizard before her. He sighed heavily. "And what else was I supposed to do, Emmeline? You were uncontactable, Remus is forbidden by the ministry to look after children in any circumstances and everyone else named in the will is dead or incapable of looking after a baby."_

 _"Minerva McGonagall isn't." Emmeline challenged him. "Poppy Pomphrey, Andromeda Tonks, Leah Benson, Amelia Bones aren't. All of them were named as well in an emergency."_

 _Dumbledore shifted uncomfortably, obviously not expecting her to be so knowledgeable. "But none of them can offer the level of protection as Harry's current guardians can. And additionally, all of them are still grieving for lost loved ones- do you really want me to have asked them to look after the most famous baby in our history?"_

 _Emmeline looked down at her clenched hands for a moment and took a deep breath before she met his gaze again. "I am not going to drop this." She told him as she stood, tired of fighting a losing battle. She waited until she was outside the walls of her old school before she allowed herself to sag against a tree, her hands coming up to rest over her stomach, the slight swell imperceptible under her robes. "Looks like your God-brother is going to be a little harder to track down than I'd hoped little one." She murmured._

 _1986_

 _Emmeline felt her stomach knot nervously as she approached the boring, generic house in Surrey on an overcast afternoon. Four years, it had taken almost four years for her to find Harry. Of course, she hadn't been actively searching during the whole of that time. The aftermath of the war, a difficult pregnancy which had involved moving to a different country and a new baby had all meant the search had been slow at first. She'd almost given up until, four months ago, Rosalie had gotten a hold of her wand, transfiguring herself an extra arm and one less leg. And a defeated Emmeline had been unable to put it right- a double shift at work, during which she'd taken two stunners at the same time had exhausted her and a rambunctious four year old who ran away at bedtime hadn't helped matters._

 _She'd sent a letter with Missy to Minerva when close to tears, begging for her help and the worried teacher had asked the elf to take her to Emmeline straight away. She taken one look at the hysterical child and fixed her with a simple wave of her wand, picking her up immediately to console her and propping her on her hip._

 _"Missy, would you be so kind as to make tea for Emmeline and I please? I will just get... Rosalie is it? I will just get Rosalie settled into bed and then i'll be down."_

 _She vanished upstairs, transfiguring Rosalie sleep clothes and tucking her in- the girl had fallen asleep almost immediately. And then she sat with Emmeline, prompting her gently until the younger woman had spilled the whole story. The mission away from home, the discovery of her unexpected pregnancy which had prompted her to return only to discover the life she'd left behind torn apart with her best friends all gone and Harry missing._

 _"I love Rosalie with all my heart, but she's so energetic and I can't keep up, especially not after a whole day at work. She spends more time with Missy than me." Emmeline confessed tearfully. "And the whole time, all I can think of is Harry somewhere alone. I promised Lily I'd look after him but I don't even know what continent he's on!"_

 _"Albus didn't tell you?" Minerva questioned in surprise. "He's with Lily's sister!"_

 _"What? Petunia? Harry is with Petunia? Oh Merlin!" Emmeline shot to her feet and began to pace, wringing her hands in front of her. "Minerva, Petunia hates magic. I lost track of how many times Lily cried herself to sleep on my shoulder because of that woman! She's dreadfully jealous and always has been- she refused to even come to Lily's wedding! She will not be kind to Harry, I know she won't. Oh Merlin."_

 _She dropped back into her seat and placed her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry Lily. I failed." She murmured miserably._

 _"Emmeline Vance, where is your fighting spirit?" Minerva placed her hands on her hips. "Now you listen to me lass- you've not failed, not yet anyway. I had reservations about placing Harry in that house, but I got so used to listening to Albus during the war and at the school that I simply trusted he knew what he was doing. But he's human like he rest of us, and not infallible. You work at the ministry, don't you? There must be someone there you trust, someone powerful that you can go to for help?"_

 _"Help with what?" Asked Emmeline in confusion._

 _"With gaining custody of Harry, of course." Minerva said impatiently. "You will have to do it via the French ministry and the muggle system- Merlin knows the British ministry is all but useless but it will be legal there if you can pull it off."_

 _Emmeline blinked, but nodded. "Jean... Jean-Claude. My boss, technically, but I knew him for many years before I joined the ministry and I trust him."_

 _"Good. In the morning, once you've slept some we'll start. That boy deserves a decent childhood."_

 _Emmeline smiled tiredly at her, hope sparking within her for the first time in many, many months. "Thank you." She whispered sincerely, gratitude soaking her voice._

 _Minerva smiled at her and sat down, taking her hand. "I promised you once I would always look after you; that still stands. But Emmeline… please don't take this the wrong way- but are you sure you're up to looking after a second child?"_

 _"_ _Yes." Emmeline replied instantly. "It's just… I'm hoping that with some company her own age Rosalie will calm down. None of my co-workers or friends here in France have children her age so she's cut off somewhat with only Missy for company."_

 _"_ _Does she not start school soon?"_

 _"_ _Next year." Emmeline confirmed. "I had to argue to with the school about accepting her but they agreed eventually."_

 _"_ _But that's not the only thing is it?" Minerva asked suspiciously._

 _"_ _It's just… work is a little crazy at the moment. I'm still the new girl, still have to prove myself."_

 _"_ _At the cost of your own health? Of your relationship with your child?" questioned Minerva gently. Emmeline shook her head, tears welling up._

 _"_ _Merlin, I'm sorry." She pressed her fingers to her eyes. "I'm just…"_

 _"_ _Tired." Minerva finished. "It's okay, child. Do you have anyone else to help you? Friends or..."_

 _Emmeline shook her head. "_ Non. _You know that my parents were killed during my sixth year. I was an only child as were both my parents and my grandparents all died before I started Hogwarts. Most of my friends were killed during the last war. I have no one but Rosalie and Harry."_

 _"_ _And me." Minerva smiled gently. "Emmeline, why didn't you come to me when you were back? I would have helped you."_

 _"_ _I couldn't. You'd already done so much for me; I'd have been dead within the week if you hadn't taken me in after my parents. I couldn't ask for more."_

 _"_ _You never had to ask child, it was always freely offered. I would have been glad to help- Merlin knows a couple of bairns running around might have lightened things in the aftermath."_

 _Emmeline gave a weak smile, reaching out to grasp her hand._

 _"_ _But… Emmeline, what happened to Remus Lupin? He was close to you and the others wasn't he?"_

 _"_ _You tell me and we'll both know." Emmeline smiled bitterly. "He vanished off of the face of the earth after Lily and James died. I've tried to contact him a few times but haven't had any reply- quite frankly I have better things to do than to chase him around."_

 _"_ _That's strange, I would have thought he would want to be close to Harry as well." Mused Minerva. "I remember him as somewhat of an honorary uncle to Harry."_

 _"_ _So do I." whispered Emmeline sadly. Minerva looked at her._

 _"_ _Come on, reminiscing is doing no good. Let's get you to bed and we can cope with the rest in the morning."_

 _And true to her promise, the next morning they'd quietly started proceedings, circumventing the usual proceedings with some help from Jean and eventually the paperwork was all in line and Emmeline had Harry's address in her hand. "It will be difficult." Jean warned Emmeline. "If the British ministry discover you before the paperwork is cleared you could be in a lot of trouble."_

 _"_ _I don't care." Said Emmeline adamantly. She turned to where Rosalie was standing with her hand in Minerva's. "Come here baby." She hugged the girl tightly, sending up a silent prayer that she would be home that night to tuck her in. "Be good for Auntie Min okay? I love you."_

 _"_ _Love you too Mama."_

 _Emmeline smiled tightly at the two adults, and stepped into the floo. The plan was relatively simple. Minerva knew the address where Harry had been left four years before, and Emmeline planned to have his Aunt and Uncle sign over guardianship in the Muggle world. Then, via muggle transport she and Harry would return to France and have Harry legally adopted by her through his muggle connection with Emmeline. That would allow her to have him instated as a joint citizen with France in the muggle and magical world and unless the British wanted to start an international incident, they would have to accept it._

 _Emmeline moved towards the door and knocked sharply, smoothing down her grey business suit. A large, pink faced man opened the door. "What?!" he barked._

 _"_ _Mr Vernon Dursley?" she raised an eyebrow._

 _"_ _Yes. Who's asking?"_

 _"_ _My name is Lady Emmeline Vance. I have a proposition for you and your wife. May I come in?"_

 _At the sound of her title, the face of the man in front of her turned curiously pale and then darkened even further. "Of course, of course, please come in. Petunia, we have a visitor!"_

 _She was shown into the living room and soon a rather unattractive woman bustled in, looking at her curiously. "Pet, this is Lady Emily Varse." Vernon's moustache quivered._

 _Emmeline didn't bother to correct him. "Mr and Mrs Dursley, I have a proposition for you regarding your nephew."_

 _The pair froze. "Our nephew?"_

 _"_ _Harry yes? Without going into details, I find I have a need for him and am willing to take him off of your hands."_

 _"_ _Are you… one of them?" asked Vernon in a low voice. Emmeline merely raised an eyebrow._

 _"_ _One of who, Mr Dursley?"_

 _The pair exchanged another look. "You'll take him for good?" asked Petunia suspiciously._

 _"_ _You'll never hear from me nor him again." Emmeline replied coldly. They exchanged another look._

 _"_ _Okay." Vernon agreed immediately. Emmeline ducked her head to withdraw the paperwork from her bag. How dare they? Just give a child to a complete stranger without even knowing her full name? She handed them the paperwork, showing them where to sign and within minutes the signatures were in place._

 _"_ _All done." Emmeline tucked them safely into her bag. "If you could just show me to Harry, we'll be on our way."_

 _"_ _BOY!" Hollered Vernon, stalking out to the hallway with Emmeline close behind him. She was horrified to see the cupboard in front of her open._

 _"_ _Yes Uncle Vernon?" came the quiet reply. Emmeline felt ice settle in her stomach. The boy was smaller than Rosie, despite being almost two years older and he squinted up at them, obviously needing glasses. He was painfully thin and dressed in only a t-shirt that looked triple his size._

 _"_ _You're to go with this lady, you're her problem now." Vernon told him cruelly. His eyes widened._

 _"_ _You're sending me to the orphanage?! No, uncle Vernon please I'll be good! I'll be less freakish I promise! Please don't lock me up! Uncle Vernon, Aunt 'Tunia please!"_

 _Emmeline's heart broke and she rushed forward, kneeling down in front of the tiny child. "Harry, it's okay." She said gently. "You're not in trouble and you're not being sent to an orphanage. I promise."_

 _"_ _I… I'm not?" The boy questioned in bewilderment._

 _"_ _No sweetheart. You're coming to live with me and my daughter instead. She's a little younger than you, but I think you're going to be great friends. Do you think that's okay?"_

 _The boy nodded slowly. "There are no monsters there?" he asked tentatively._

 _"_ _Only nice ones." Emmeline promised. The boy looked at her for a long moment and then nodded._

 _"_ _Okay." He whispered. Emmeline smiled at him, but inside rage was building. What had they done to him that he was willing to leave with a perfect stranger?_

 _"_ _Good. I'm Emmeline, by the way. Do you have anything you need to fetch from your room?"_

 _"_ _That's my room Emmy." Harry pointed to the cupboard behind him. "And no, there's nothing."_

 _"_ _The cupboard? You kept him in a cupboard?" Emmeline questioned lowly, eyes flashing as she turned on the now terrified husband and wife._

 _"_ _We gave him the clothes on his back! A roof over his head and food in his belly!" Vernon bristled. Emmeline's wand was in her hand before she realised it and she'd magically pinned them against the wall, none too gently._

 _"_ _You've given him nothing! You are despicable and if I wasn't in a hurry I would show you just what I think of you!" she spun on her heel, seething to see Harry watching her with wide eyes. "I'm not mad at you baby, okay? You don't have to be afraid."_

 _She gentled her voice, reaching for him slowly and after a moment he came to her, wrapping his arms around her neck as she lifted him easily. Picking up her bag she headed towards the door, only to be stopped by a quiet voice behind her._

 _"_ _You're… you're not going to hurt him are you?" Petunia asked her hesitantly. Emmeline glared at coolly._

 _"_ _Shouldn't you have asked that before you signed him away?"_

 _She walked out, fumbling with the hand that wasn't carrying Harry for a pen in her bag. "Hold on tight Harry, this is going to feel a little strange but my little display means we don't have time. Portus!"_

 _She gripped the pen to activate the portkey, holding Harry tightly as she felt the tug behind her navel and they went spinning, Emmeline's balance thrown off by the extra weight so that when they landed she fell to her knees. "Emmeline!" came the startled cry from Minerva, who had risen to go to the kitchen just in time to see them land in the front hallway._

 _"_ _There was a slight change of plan." Emmeline told her grimly as she got to her feet, Harry still clinging to her tightly._

 _"_ _Obviously." Came the dry reply._

 _"_ _Minerva, this is Harry. Harry this is your Aunt Minerva."_

 _Harry peeked out at her shyly and gave a small wave, sliding to the ground as Emmeline released her grip and looking up at her. "Emmy? You're really not going to lock me up?" he asked quietly._

 _"_ _No sweetheart." Emmeline assured him, kneeling so they were on the same level. "I knew your parents Harry, I've been looking for you for a very long time."_

 _"_ _Really? You knew my parents?" Harry brightened. "What were they like?"_

 _"_ _They were the best people I ever knew." Emmeline smiled, pain dancing through her chest. "Your father was strong and very, very brave and your mother was so clever- the cleverest of all of us, actually and very kind."_

 _"_ _Was she pretty?" Harry asked innocently. Emmeline laughed lightly._

 _"_ _The prettiest." She told him in amusement. Harry nodded, satisfied._

 _"_ _Aunt 'Tunia said my parents were selfish drunks who got themselves killed in a car crash." He confided. Emmeline ground her teeth._

 _"_ _No Harry. Your parents were kind and generous and selfless. They didn't die in a car crash and they certainly weren't drunks." She told him, attempting to suppress her anger._

 _"_ _Harry, your parents loved you very, very much." Minerva told him gently, moving forward and joining Emmeline on the floor. "You were their world."_

 _He smiled wistfully. "That sounds nice. What were their names?"_

 _Emmeline felt tears well up, and she exchanged a desolate look with Minerva at what the Dursleys had done. "James and Lily. James and Lily Potter."_

 _"_ _I like those names." Said Harry thoughtfully, then blinked. "Where are we?"_

 _Emmeline smiled. "This is where I live Harry. Welcome to_ Le Place Des Anges. _"_

 ** _Hi everyone! Thank you so much for reading this- the number of follows and favourites was amazing! Thanks to the reviewers, especially Millie- you gave me multiple ideas! :-D X_**


	3. Chapter 3

_Maman_ (and Rosie),

I got into Gryffindor! The hat wanted to put me in Slytherin originally but said 'circumstances meant I was better suited to Gryffindor'. What do you think that means?

Hogwarts is amazing! There are four other boys and four girls in my class- I already made friends with Neville as well, I told him you say hello he says hello back. I think we're going to get along brilliantly. Apparently his grandmother has told him stories about his parents so he knew who you were, Mum. I'm friendly with another boy too, Ron, I met him on the train. He has five brothers and a sister! He doesn't like doing homework very much but he loves chess- his older brother Percy is in fifth year and Fred and George are in their third- they're really funny but Percy is kind of stuck up… don't worry, I'm being nice to him though! Dean and Seamus are funny too (they're in my year as well) and Dean loves football! We're going to have a match if we can find enough players.

The girls in my year seem… nice. Two of them do nothing but talk about make up and clothes (boring!) and another seems more interested in her friends in another house. But there's this other girl, Hermione, she's a muggle born and she's really bossy. I don't think I like her very much, she has to be the best in everything and doesn't know when to keep out of other people's business. But she seems lonely… nobody likes her, and she doesn't fit in. What do you think?

There's this boy too, Draco Malfoy. He _was_ put in Slytherin and was very rude on the train but I did what you said and acted nice no matter what. He tried to tell me that he could help with knowing the 'right kind of family'. I told him that the right kind was a matter of opinion and that having one friend didn't mean I couldn't have another. He looked kind of surprised, I don't think anyone's ever questioned him before but we shook hands anyway. I'm not sure we can be friends but maybe we don't have to be enemies.

Everybody wants to know about me and Voldemort as well. I might scream if I see one more person flinch when I say his name. They won't listen when I tell them that my parents were the heroes, not me. Even some of the teachers act funny around me!

Dumbledore doesn't seem all that interested in me yet… I don't think he knows I'm not at the Dursleys. But there's this one teacher, Professor Snape. He's the potions master and the head of Slytherin and he hates me despite the fact I've done nothing! He kept making digs about being a celebrity and gave me a test far beyond first year! I got some of the answers right but not all of them and then he gave this speech about how fame obviously isn't everything. I swear I didn't do anything!

Anyway I've got to go, I have an essay to do. I'll write again soon!

Love Harry

P.S. Aunt Min said to send her love

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Congratulations on becoming a Gryffindor! I'm glad you're making friends - your Aunt has told me about the Weasleys, just don't get too caught up with the twins and their pranks okay? And make sure you do your work even if Ron doesn't want to._

 _I think you should try to befriend Hermione. She sounds as if she's very lonely and not used to making friends- perhaps she was home schooled? You should try talking to her, you may have something in common. Remember how frightened you were when you were first introduced to the magical world? She's just as frightened and attempting to navigate a new school on top of it. I suspect if she acts as you say she's probably being teased as well- be nice to her Harry no matter what your peers do. Friends can be found in the most unlikely of places._

 _I remember the Malfoy family- they were aligned with Voldemort during the war but claimed they were under the imperious curse to escape conviction. Be careful, but don't rule out being friends with Draco just yet. Maybe he will turn out differently from his parents. As for Professor Snape, he's being exceptionally unprofessional. He knew your parents, we were at school with him and while he and your mother were friends as children, your father and he were bitter rivals. There was an argument during our fifth year, I believe, and he lost your mother's friendship. When she and your father began to date he became even angrier, until circumstances occurred that resulted in your father saving his life. I don't believe he forgave any of us, and eventually he joined Voldemort as a death eater. After the war, Dumbledore saved him by revealing he had been a spy for the light. I have no idea whether it's true or not._

 _My point is, don't get angry with him. If he is taking his school day rivalry out on you then he is far more bitter and immature than I had ever realised. Be kind to him Harry- I can't promise it will be reciprocated but it will make you the better person. And as for the headmaster, just do your best to steer clear of him._

 _That snake of yours is causing trouble-he seems very upset about something but unfortunately Rose and I are somewhat lost without you here to speak with him. He went off hunting a few days ago and hasn't been back since- when he does, I'll talk with your aunt about him coming to school with you. I make no promises though._

 _Rose sends her love, and asks you send pictures with your next letter._

 _Love always,_

 _Mum_

 _Harry,_

 _Why have I just received a letter from your Aunt telling me you were put on the Quidditch team after disobeying a teacher and making some sort of impossible dive? You can forget your snake- you'll see him at Christmas. What were you thinking?_

 _Love Mum_

Dear mum,

The Quidditch thing wasn't my fault! Well… I suppose it was in a way, but not like you think! Draco stole Neville's remembrall and tried to throw it so it broke and I caught it before it could. How was I supposed to know Aunt Min was watching? You're not angry are you?

I yelled at Draco afterwards and told him that being a bully wouldn't make him popular, just feared. He kinda reminds me of Dudley, Petunia and Vernon's son? I told him that I'd be happy to be friends with him but he had to be nice too. He looked like I'd round housed him in the stomach. It's a work in progress.

I did as you said with Hermione- you were right, the magical world is overwhelming for her and she didn't know how to fit in. She was home schooled for years- her parents only put her in school during year 6. Anyway, she loves to read so I talk to her about that sometimes.

I'm being nice to Professor Snape too, not that it makes any difference to him. Now he just calls me a suck up. By the way, you could have warned me Aunt Minerva is a little terrifying as a teacher! If I didn't know her as I do, I'd never guess she can act just as silly as me and Rosie!

I put some pictures in for Rosie like she wanted- I took as many as I could.

Love you loads!

Harry

 _A TROLL? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE, YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! WHEN YOU GET HOME YOU ARE GROUNDED FOR THE WHOLE HOLIDAYS!_

 _Harry,_

 _Minerva explained to me more about the troll and why you did what you did. Saving Hermione was very brave, but next time could you please fetch a teacher? I swear, between you and your sister I'm going grey._

 _Love Mum_

 _P.S. Rose loved the pictures and said thank you, send more_

Mum,

We all got told to tell our guardians that the train will arrive usual time despite the snow- Isn't magic brilliant?

See you soon!

Harry bounced excitedly in his seat on the train, peering out the window to try and estimate how long it would be until they reached Kings Cross. Hermione sat opposite him, an amused smile on her face. "I never asked" she said suddenly. "Where exactly do you live?"

"Oh, quite a while away." Harry said airily, although his heart began to speed up at the line of questioning. Hermione looked at him out of curious eyes, her head tilted.

"And you live with your guardian?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah... Mum adopted me when I was six."

Hermione looked at him suspiciously but then smiled. "I'm glad. It's good that you-know-who didn't ruin your life too much."

Harry snorted. "Yeah…" he said disbelievingly. Hermione frowned and began to say something else, but was cut off by Neville entering their cabin.

"Sorry, Harry can I talk to you?" he questioned. Harry nodded, sliding off his seat to join him outside. Neville looked at him nervously. "Gran asked me to extend an informal invitation to you and your family for Christmas. Nothing fancy, just a meal on christmas eve."

"Thanks Neville, but we already have plans with some family friends. Maybe we could do something New Years?" Harry suggested apologetically. Neville smiled.

"I'll ask gran. Also… I just wanted to say that your secret is safe with me. I know it's fairly late to be telling you that but-"

"No, Neville thank you." Harry interrupted him kindly. "I trusted you- our families are allies, twice over on my side."

Neville grinned. "True."

"Did you know we're God-brothers as well?" Harry continued curiously. Neville blinked and shook his head.

"No…?"

Harry nodded. "My mum- birth mum, that is- she was your Godmother and your mum was mine."

Neville smiled. "I didn't know that. In which case, I'm very pleased to have you as my God-brother Harry."

"And I you." Harry replied, suppressing a smile at Neville's formal tone. They both looked up as the train began to slow. Harry felt a smile spread across his face. "We're here!"

He called goodbye to Neville and rushed back into the cabin, helping Hermione with her bag before grabbing his own. He'd sent Hedwig on a few days before so he wouldn't have to carry her back as well and most chose to leave their trunks in school over Christmas to save carrying them. Harry followed Hermione onto the platform, eyes searching for the familiar blonde hair of his family.

Hermione spotted her parents almost immediately and while she was distracted with greeting them Harry slipped away to an emptier part of the platform. "Harry!" he heard Rosalie before he saw her, dropping his bag just in time to catch her as she flew at him.

"Hey Rosie." He laughed, spinning her around. Over her shoulder, Harry spotted his mother and following Rose's example, flew at her with a smile.

"Hi honey." His mother grinned, pressing her lips to his head. He drew back, grinning at her.

"I missed you. It's really good to be back."

Emmeline laughed. "We're not home yet."

"Unfortunately. Oh, the Longbottom's invited us over christmas eve- I told them we were busy but Neville said he's check with his gran about New Years instead." Harry remembered as Rose joined them with Harry's bag.

Emmeline wrapped an arm around Harry and Rosalie's shoulders and began to lead them towards the exit- Harry gave Hermione a wave as he spotted her looking at him curiously. "So." Emmeline said conversationally to Harry. "About that troll…"


	4. Chapter 4

Harry might have loved living in France, but sometimes he hated the travelling. From the station they walked to the nearest floo collection which was in a shop around the corner- a lot of children with wizarding parents used this connection, if they could afford to pay the fee the owner charged for it. From there, they flooed to The Leaky Cauldron. A short walk through muggle London and they arrived at The Unicorn's Tale, the only public international floo in England. _Les Deux Baguettes Magique_ was its sister pub in Paris- it was in _Le Boulevard_ and so they used the floo connection there to travel to _Le Lutin Lilas_ from where they could walk home.

It took a while and Harry was exhausted by the time they made it home, greeting Missy before bidding them all goodnight and falling straight into bed. He'd asked his mother once why the journey was so complicated, he recalled as he drifted off to sleep.

 _1989_

 _"_ _Why can't we just floo directly?" asked Harry._

 _"_ _Because the international connections only connect to other international floos." Emmeline explained tiredly. "And since we're not connected to the floo network we have to rely on the public connections. It would take a lot longer to do it any other way I assure you."_

 _"_ _But why aren't we connected?_ Oncle Jean _is."_

 _"_ _Because it's dangerous." His mother explained. "The floo is vulnerable, and would weaken the fidelius charm over the house."_

 _"_ _How?" asked Harry curiously. Emmeline sighed._

 _"_ _Because when I said the floo address, anyone could overhear me. And of they were in earshot, I wouldn't be able to say it which would mean I couldn't floo anywhere anyway. It would either negate the point of a floo or negate the point of having the charm."_

 _"_ _Oh…"_

* * *

"Harry, hurry up we're going to be late!" Emmeline yelled up the stairs, hurriedly pulling on her coat and glancing over to check Rosalie had hers on.

"I'm here, I'm here!" Harry dashed down the stairs, tugging on his jumper as he did so.

"Coat!" his mother ordered as she tucked her wand inside her bag and wrapped a scarf around her neck. Harry glared at a smirking Rose, who was already standing by the door, coat, hat and gloves on. "Why we do this every year…" muttered Emmeline. "… Far easier to just stay in the magical world…"

All three of them finally ready, they left the house, rushing across the park to the pub and calling a harried greeting to Henri as they passed. "Rose, you first." Emmeline ordered, grabbing the powder and holding it out for her.

 _"_ _Le Manoir de Delacour."_ Rose called out and tumbled through the floo, falling to her knees on the other side.

" _Bonjour ma cherie._ " Came an amused voice and Rose scrambled up with a smile.

" _Tata!_ " she beamed, rushing into the arms of the woman while her husband chuckled. Behind her, Harry flew out the floo and skidded across the floor to receive the same greeting as his sister and shortly behind him Emmeline stepped through far more gracefully.

" _Bonjour Apolline, Jean-Claude._ " She greeted the pair with a hug just as two blonde blurs darted into the room.

" _Tante Emmeline!_ " Fleur and Gabrielle's entrance started more greetings but in minutes Harry found himself sat in a car, all seven of them crammed in alongside a driver. Every year on Christmas Eve, the two families travelled together into Paris to see a muggle show before going out to dinner. Harry and Rose grown up with the Delacours, often being the only children at ministry events meant the youngest four had become fast friends and Harry counted them as his cousins.

 _1988_

 _"_ _Rose, we should not be doing this!" hissed Harry in French as he followed his adoptive sister into the deserted corridor._

 _"_ _It's fine Harry. Who is going to suspect us?"_

 _"_ Maman? _"_

 _"_ _Well… yes, but apart from her?"_

 _Harry huffed, but continued to follow her, glancing around nervously. Rose paused as they reached the door, holding out her hand and biting her lip. "Alohomora." She breathed, grinning happily when it unlocked._

 _"_ _Come on!"_

 _They darted inside, giggling and shushing each other. "The desk first?" Harry suggested. They pushed together, moving it a few inches to the left. When they tried to move it forward, they hit a problem._

 _"_ _Don't let it tip!" cried Harry. Rose grabbed it and pressed down, averting disaster in the nick of time. They exchanged a relieved glance._

 _"_ _Maybe I push and you pull from the other side?" she suggested shakily. He nodded, and together they heaved the desk, only for it not to move._

 _Rose scowled. "I don't suppose you've mastered the levitation charm?"_

 _"_ _My last feather ended up stuck in the ceiling."_

 _"_ _That'll be a no then."_

 _"_ _I know how to do it." Said a voice from behind them. They both yelped, spinning around. A pretty blonde girl stood there, looking amused. A young blonde toddler clutched at her hand next to her, regarding them with wide eyes._

 _"_ _Fleur! Um… this isn't what it looks like…" Harry began._

 _"_ _Non? Because it looks like you broke into the office of a French ministry worker." The girl commented._

 _"_ _Okay, so it is what it looks like. But it's for a good reason!" he added hastily._

 _"_ _Oh? What did monsieur Benoit do to you?"_

 _"_ _Not us." Rosalie explained. "Maman. He's horrid to her; he made her cry!"_

 _"_ _He's her boss,_ oui _?"_

 _"_ Oui. _"_

 _She looked at them for a long moment, then smiled. "I will help you. What are you attempting to do?"_

 _Rose grinned. "Move everything just a few inches off so he'll know something is wrong but won't be able to pinpoint it."_

 _They got to work, moving everything from the pictures lining the wall to the individual items on his desk. Then, Rose dug through her bag and produced left over fish heads sealed in a plastic bag; the three proceeded to hide them at inconspicuous points around the room, Gabrielle watching them curiously. Then, for reasons unknown Fleur knew how to dismantle the chair so that when their target sat on it, he crashed to the floor._

 _"_ _We've been gone for over an hour!" hissed Harry, spotting the clock. The girls' eyes widened in alarm._

 _"_ _Come on!" Fleur swung Gabby onto her hip as Rose grabbed her bag, zipping it up and they rushed from the room._

 _"_ _Lights!" Harry realised. Rose flicked her fingers and murmured the spell before relocking the door and the four hurried down the corridor towards the party they'd snuck away from._

 _Fleur nudged Harry. "Poke your head in and see if anyone is watching."_

 _He did so, glancing around and slipping through the door when he saw no one was paying attention, gesturing for the others to do the same. As carefully as they dared, they slid through the crowd until they reached the slightly less crowded balcony, breathing a sigh of relief as no one called out to them._

 _They settled down, giggling nervously until a voice from behind them caused them to freeze._

 _"_ _Where in the world have you all been?" Emmeline questioned, frowning. Harry looked alarmed, but Rose pasted a puzzled look onto her face._

 _"_ _What do you mean? We've been here."_

 _Emmeline raised an eyebrow. "In this very spot?"_

 _"_ _We were inside for a while." Fleur answered, looking innocent. "Did you know just how terrible a dancer Harry is?"_

 _Emmeline looked at them all suspiciously. "Don't wander off." She said finally. "And stay out of trouble."_

 _She drifted away with on last narrow-eyed glance, and the children exchanged looks of relief. They didn't know it at the time, but that night cemented a life-long friendship._

Present day

As much as Harry adored his cousins, he much preferred Christmas Day which was spent far more sedately at _Le Place Des Anges_ , his mother, sister, Minerva and Missy exchanging gifts and watching Christmas films on the TV kept in the cellar. All of it was fully furnished, but the potions lab down there was sealed off, and the rest of the cellar was a warm, clear space where Rose and Harry practiced dance. Except at Christmas, when they would drag blankets and cushions down there into a pile and watch movies together.

Nestled in the pile, his head resting on his Aunt Minerva's shoulder while Rose slept on Emmeline's Harry smiled. It was good to be home.

* * *

Harry was sat at his desk in the study, scanning through various books in an attempt to find out who Nicholas Flammel was when the raised voices of his mother and sister drifted up to him. He paused, listening for a moment. Rosalie screamed something he couldn't quite make out and then there was the sound of a slamming door followed by footsteps running up the stairs and another slamming door. Harry blinked. That was... Unusual, he thought.

He rose and rushed down the stairs, peeking over the landing to the ground floor just in time to see his mother disappear down into the cellar where her potions lab was and Harry knew not to disturb her while she was working. Which left Rosalie.

Their rooms both sat at the back of the cottage, their windows overlooking the forest that grew there, with the staircase to the attic nestled between Rose's room and their mothers at the end of the house, so Harry only had to go a few steps down the hall to the left to knock on his sister's door. There was no answer, but he could hear soft sobs from inside so cautiously entered anyway. "Rosie?" He called questioningly. He had to pause though, when he glimpsed the room. He hadn't been in there for a while even before he left for school- he had no reason to. The last time he had been in there had been toys strewn over the floor, the desk was covered in random papers from multiple homework assignments and the walls had been covered in muggle and magical posters that Harry knew his mother had hated.

Now, however, the posters were gone, revealing pale lemon walls on which hung framed pictures of dancers in various positions. Some had been enchanted so that they moved, performing a set of steps over and over. With the exception of a few soft toys on Rose's bed, the toys were all gone too. The cream carpet was visible now while the desk held organised piles of papers and books. In the corner sat a violin and sheet music next to a book shelf that was crammed full of books; a pile of piano music sat on top next to a ballerina figurine and next to that was sheet music for singing. Harry knew that in a drawer in her desk, sheet music for multiple other instruments sat as well. And Rose herself was curled on the bed, shaking slightly. "Hey." Harry murmured. "What's going on? Why is _maman_ so angry?"

Rosalie rolled over to face him, revealing tear stained cheeks. "I don't want to go to Hogwart's or Beauxbaton's, Harry. I never have- mum always assumed I'd grow out of it but when I told her I still didn't want to she was rather angry."

"I don't understand." Said Harry slowly. "Why don't you want to go to school? Don't you want to learn magic?"

"I love _magic_ , Harry, but I don't like the magical world. It's prejudiced and… antiquated and… just plain cruel sometimes!" Rose burst out. "I don't want to live in that world! I want to dance, Harry, professionally and Madame DuBois thinks that if I work hard I could be good enough! If I went to school I'd have to stop dancing for months at a time! I don't want to do that!" A fresh wave of tears fell, and Harry wrapped her in a hug.

"It's okay, Rosie, it's going to be okay." He soothed, not really understanding why this was such an issue. She sobbed into his shoulder for a few minutes, before eventually she calmed down enough to ask:

"Do you think I'm wrong?"

Harry was silent for a long minute. "No." He admitted softly. "You're right. The magical world is... extraordinary, but it's flawed. And you're an incredible dancer Rosie, you shouldn't give it up, not when you love it so much and when there's a way for you to dance and learn magic if mum would teach you here."

Rose smiled into his shirt. "Thanks." She murmured.

"Anytime _ma petite soeur_."

But when Harry left again for Hogwarts his mother and sister were still arguing bitterly about it, and his own attempts to sway his mother had been met with swift rebuttal. Standing on the platform with the train about to leave, he tried one last time.

" _Maman,_ is it really so terrible that Rose wants to dance?" he asked. She sighed.

"Harry…"

" _Non Maman._ When I was deciding whether to go to Hogwarts or not you said you would support me no matter what I chose. Why is it different for Rose?"

"The circumstances aren't the same…" Emmeline started but Harry cut her off.

"Aren't they? If she comes to Hogwarts, everyone will know her as the adopted sister of the boy-who-lived. If she goes to Beuxbatons, she'll be known as the cousin of a veela. Either way, she'll be famous."

Emmeline bit her lip. "I hadn't thought of that." She admitted. "But keeping her out of school… Harry, do you really think it's a good idea?"

"Mum, dance has been Rose's life for as long as I can remember. Besides, she'll carry on attending muggle school won't she? It's not as if she'll be isolated." Harry pointed out. Emmeline looked troubled, but then blinked as the train whistled.

"I'll think about it." she promised. Harry grinned.

"Thanks. By the way, do you know who Nicholas Flammel is?"

Emmeline blinked. "The alchemist? Yes, he's quite famous- I believe he and his wife live in the south of France. Why?"

"Oh, it just came up in a book." Harry shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hmm." His mother didn't seem convinced, but wrapped him in a tight hug. "Now get on board- _Je t'aime_."

" _Je t'aime aussi_!" Harry broke free and jumped through one of the open door of the carriage a second before the conductor began to close it, prompting a good natured eye roll.

"Harry!" he heard Hermione call. He grinned.

"Hey, how was your Christmas? I know who Nicholas Flammel is."


	5. Chapter 5

Mum,

Remember how I told you about Hagrid, the friendly groundskeeper? Well, the other day me, Hermione and Ron went to visit him when we passed on a walk and he was acting funny. Eventually we found out he has a dragon! Well, a dragon egg. It hasn't hatched yet but he lives in a wooden house! And it's illegal! If we tell he'll get in trouble but if we don't he can't hide it forever or he could get hurt! I don't want to tell on him, he's my friend but I don't know what to do.

Ron's brother Charlie works with dragons in Romania, Hermione had the idea of sending the egg to him but it's due to hatch soon and we're uncertain about how to get it there…

Help?

Love Harry

* * *

 _Harry,_

 _Firstly, I think the fact that this is illegal should weigh a little more heavily on you- your friend could get into a lot of trouble for this. Secondly, you shouldn't need to feel responsible for this honey. Hagrid is a fully grown adult- he should know better._

 _As for what to do, I informed your Aunt she may want to pay a visit to Hagrid and talk to him. I don't know what will happen, but please stay out of it and stop worrying- this isn't your responsibility. DO NOT send it to Charlie- you could all be arrested for violating international laws!_

 _All my love_

 _Mum_

 _P.S. I thought you'd want to know your sister and I came to an agreement- she attends muggle school and continues to dance but we increase her magical education as well. I believe she sent you a letter of her own._

* * *

Mum,

The dragon hatched- Hagrid called it Norbert.

Love Harry

* * *

 ** _Harry,_**

 ** _THANK YOU! Your talk with mum_** ** _worked, she's agreed that I don't have to go away to school! Thank you so much!_**

 ** _I loved the picture of the castle by the way- I stuck it above my desk. Will you send more?_**

 ** _Love you!_**

 ** _Rose X_**

 _ **P.S. A dragon called Norbert, really?**_

* * *

Rosie,

You're welcome! Congratulations too.

I sent more in the envelope- I apologise, Ron, Dean, Seamus and Neville got hold of the camera while I was at quidditch.

You think Norbert's bad? He's got a Cerebos called Fluffy.

Love Harry

* * *

 _HARRY JAMES POTTER!_

 _WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? I TOLD YOU TO LET YOUR AUNT DEAL WITH THE DRAGON!_

 _YOU DESERVE EVERY LOST POINT AND DETENTION, YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!_

 _ONE MORE INCIDENT, JUST ONE AND I WILL PULL YOU FROM HOGWARTS AND SEND YOU TO BEUXBATONS WITH FLEUR TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOU!_

* * *

Harry winced when the howler shredded itself in front of him, the pieces landing on the floor of the transfiguration office, scuffing the toe of his shoe over the floor as avoided his aunt's gaze. "Mr Potter, what were you thinking?" she asked in frustration. Harry shrugged.

"Mr Potter look at me!"

Harry raised his head but didn't meet her eyes, remaining silent.

"Harry!"

At this, he did look at her if only out of surprise- she never called him by his first name at school. She sighed, walking around her desk to sit on the other side, gesturing for him to sit opposite her. "You think I punished you too harshly."

Harry shrugged and she pursed her lips. "Young man, I am being extremely patient with you given the circumstances, the least you could do is use your words." She told him sharply. He flinched slightly. "Now, do you think I punished you too harshly?"

"The whole house hates us." He said softly. "And you thought it was all for a practical joke."

"Harry, what was I supposed to think? Messrs Malfoy and Longbottom wandering about along with you and Miss Granger, with a story about a dragon that as far as I knew didn't exist! Are you telling me it did?"

Harry nodded miserably. "We were just trying to help Hagrid, Auntie."

"Hagrid is a fully grown adult who should have known better than to rope an eleven year old into his latest disaster." Minerva said severely. "I offered to help him, he told me that there was no such dragon and that you must have been mistaken!"

"And you believed him?" cried Harry.

"Of course I did, he's an-" she cut herself off abruptly.

"He's an adult." Harry finished quietly, sagging back against his chair. Minerva sighed.

"I'm beginning to seriously reconsider that opinion." She muttered. "Harry, I think I need to clear something else up with you. Do you know why there's a curfew to be in your common rooms?"

Harry blinked at the change of subject. "So we can sleep?" he suggested. Minerva smiled.

"Well, yes." She admitted. "But it's more complicated than that- magic puts incredible strain on our bodies Harry. Learning magic even more so, especially when you're young. Even if you don't feel it, you need sleep in order to cope with the demands on your body. It can be very dangerous if you don't sleep enough- why do you think I do spot checks on you all?"

"You do spot checks?" Harry asked, startled.

"Yes." Came the amused answer. "Usually in cat form- for some reason people seem to be less intimidated."

"Oh…" he said, not knowing quite else what to say.

"But that's not the only reason there's a curfew, Harry." Minerva continued. "It's because the castle can be dangerous. During the day, the portraits and ghosts act like a warning system for the teachers, alerting us if someone is hurt or in trouble. But at night, in the dark they're asleep and there's no such system. If you were injured in any way, no one would know until morning."

"So that's why…" Harry began, then trailed off but his aunt nodded.

"That's why I was so angry. Because you put yourself and your friends in danger. And that is also why my punishment stands." She spoke softly and Harry opened his mouth to protest, then thought better of it and slid down further in his seat. "And the only reason I'm not taking that infernal cloak that Dumbledore saw fit to give you at school, is because I know how much it means to you. Although if you ever use it to sneak out after curfew I will take it and send it to your mother." Harry slid even further down, shoulders hunched. "I will however, talk with the other students about how they treat you, especially considering how many points they have lost over the years."

Harry's mouth twisted bitterly. "'Cause that will make all the difference." He mumbled. And yelped when he felt a sting across the back of his head, pouting slightly at Minerva. "Ow!" He protested.

"Manners." She reprimanded, but amusement twinkled in her eyes and Harry rolled his own, leaning into her in a hug as he wondered if his mother would have forgotten this by the end of term.

* * *

Hi mum,

I know you're still mad at me but this is important: Voldemort's at Hogwarts.

Don't freak out! He's barely alive, but I'm pretty sure Dumbledore knows. The centaurs think that Voldemort is killing unicorns in the forest and drinking their blood to keep himself alive. A centaur named Firenze saved me from him when I saw it, he says that Voldemort is after the Philosopher's stone which is hidden- supposedly safe- at school. Dumbledore is an old friend of the owner of the stone.

Anyway, my point is if Dumbledore knows Voldemort is here, or at least suspects it why hasn't he done anything?

Love Harry

* * *

 _Harry,_

 _DO NOT GO AFTER THE STONE._

 _I mean it, I know you- let him steal it if necessary but don't go after it! Harry I beg you, he is far too dangerous and more powerful than you could imagine. I spoke to your Aunt- she said she has no idea how you found out about the stone but says that it's well protected, and that no one can steal it. However, I'm fully aware they said that about Gringott's until a few months ago…_

 _Harry, please listen to me. Even if this is the only time you ever do again- stay out of this, don't put yourself in danger I implore you._

 _I love you._

 _Maman_

* * *

As Harry raced with Ron and Hermione back up to the school after speaking with Hagrid, his mother's most recent letter crossed his mind for a moment but he pushed the thought away- he loved his mother dearly but Voldemort could not be allowed to return, no matter the cost.

"Remind me… why… we're not going… to Dumbledore?" Ron puffed as they reached the front steps.

"Because I trust Professor McGonagall more!" Harry answered as he barrelled up the stairs and in the direction of the professor's office.

"But Dumbledore is the greatest wizard-" Hermione began but Harry cut her off.

"Of the time, I know. But it's all a matter of opinion on what the definition of great is, isn't it?"

"And we're sure Snape isn't trying to steal it?" Ron checked before Hermione could continue to argue.

"I told you, Snape's a git but he's not on Voldemort's side! He was on the light side during the war!"

Hermione looked cross, opening her mouth but at that moment Professor McGonagall came around the corner with an armful of books, almost hitting them. "What are you three doing inside?" she questioned once she'd regained her balance.

"Someone's going to try and steal the Philosopher's Stone." Harry told her without preamble. Her mouth dropped open slightly and she just managed to catch the books before they fell while Hermione and Ron gaped at him.

"Mr Potter not again." She sighed. "Really, no one can possibly steal it- it's far too well protected." She told him with a frown. He shook his head frantically.

"Hagrid messed up- he told someone how to get past Fluffy."

This caused her to splutter. "You know about Fluffy? Good grief Harry…" she pinched the bridge of her nose, seemingly indecisive about something.

" _Tata,_ please listen." Harry begged her, stepping forward towards her. "Voldemort is here in the school. I don't know how, but he wants to stone to bring him back to life properly. It's bait."

She stared at him for a long moment. "For more than just him, I think." She said softly, closing her eyes.

" _Désolé, Tata._ But he is not the man who was your friend any longer." Harry said softly. Hermione and Ron were growing more and more baffled, glancing from one to the other.

"No, he's not." She agreed. She seemed to straighten, and pushing thoughts of Albus Dumbledore from her mind took control. "Right- Miss Granger, please fetch Professor Snape and tell him I need to see him in the staff room. Mr Weasley, do the same with Professor Spout and Mr Potter, Professor Quirrell. Then return to your common room."

"What are you going to do?" asked Harry worriedly.

"Fetch Professor Flitwick, contact Nicholas Flammel and get the blasted stone out of this school." She told him shortly. "Now go, all of you. Quickly, if you wouldn't mind."

They nodded, racing off in different directions and as he ran Harry suddenly heard her voice ring out across the castle. "ALL STUDENTS REPORT TO THEIR COMMON ROOMS IMMEDIATELY. ALL STUDENTS REPORT TO THEIR COMMON ROOMS IMMEDIATELY, AND REMAIN THERE UNTIL FURTHER INSTRUCTED."

Harry skidded to a stop outside the defence classroom and knocked frantically. "Professor?" he called.

"I-I-in here, P-Potter." The professor emerged from the office at the back, looking at him curiously.

"Professor McGonagall sent me to tell you that she needs you in the staff room." Harry told him urgently. Quirrell tilted his head.

"D-Did she s-s-say w-w-w-why?"

Harry hesitated. "It's about the philosopher's stone professor."

"I see. I'll be there momentarily, Mr Potter."

Harry turned to go, and then froze. "Professor, your stutter…?"

He felt something hit his chest as he turned back around, and the world went dark.


	6. Chapter 6

"Emmeline? Emmeline are you here?" Minerva called frantically, stumbling slightly as she landed next to Missy, who she'd called to get her to France quickly.

"Minerva?" Emmeline looked over the top of the stairs, concern flickered over her face as she saw the professor below. "What's wrong? Has something happened?"

"It's Harry. He's fine!" she said hastily, seeing Emmeline's face pale dramatically.

"What happened?!" Emmeline demanded.

"Voldemort possessed one of the teachers. He took Harry as an insurance that we wouldn't come after him while he tried to steal the stone. Harry's fine-apparently, he couldn't touch Quirrell without burning him due to the protection of Lily's love."

Emmeline looked baffled. "What?"

"I have no idea." Minerva admitted. "Albus tried to explain it but I didn't have a clue what he was on about."

"But Harry's okay?"

"Madame Pomphrey says so. He hasn't woken up yet, but she says he's absolutely fine." Minerva assured her. Emmeline sagged in relief.

"I wish I could go to him." She murmured. Minerva patted her hand.

"There's no point." She said gently. "He'll be on the train home in a couple of days anyway."

Emmeline nodded tiredly in agreement. "You'll look after him?"

"Of course."

Minerva left soon after and returned to the hospital wing, quickly slipping into her cat form to pass by a waiting Dumbledore, who was stood outside arguing with Madame Pomphrey outside. The Matron spotted her, and subtly moved to the side under the pretence of turning to lock the door to allow her to enter unnoticed.

She padded over to where Harry lay and jumped onto the bed beside him, curling up against his side so she could feel him breathing and closed her eyes. Her kitten was safe and she was tired.

* * *

Harry groaned as he opened his eyes, blinking in confusion at the blurs above him. "Harry?" A whisper came from his left, and he blinked furiously as he tried to focus on the shape sitting there.

"Auntie?" He questioned.

"Sh!" She hushed him quickly, pressing his glasses into his hand. He slipped them on, looking at him in bewilderment. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital wing." Minerva explained quietly, glancing behind her at the doors. "Listen to me- stay quiet because Dumbledore is out there wanting to speak with you and the only reason he isn't in here is because Poppy told him he would be too disruptive while you were asleep."

"So stay quiet." Harry nodded. "Got it."

"Good boy. How are you feeling?"

"Like I got run over by a hippogriff." Harry answered dryly. "What happened?"

Minerva frowned. "You don't remember?

Harry shook his head slowly. "I was... Talking to you... Then to Quirrell... He knocked me out!" He cried indignantly.

"Shh!" His aunt hissed. He winced, and she listened carefully for movement beyond the door. There was none, so his aunt turned back to him only to find him deathly pale. "Harry?"

"I killed him. Oh Merlin, I killed him. I'm a murderer!" He got louder and louder until Minerva knew there was no chance the people on the other side of the door hadn't heard him.

"Harry, no! You were defending yourself and stopping Voldemort from returning." She told him but he shook his head viciously just as the door clicked unlocked.

"I killed him! He touched me and he died! I'm a murderer!" He was screaming by the last word, tears tracking down his cheeks as he sobbed and Minerva could do nothing but sit next to him on the bed and hold him as he clutched at her. She glanced up to see Dumbledore and Poppy standing in the doorway of the wing, shock particularly visible on the face of the former. She ignored them, turning back to Harry and shushing him gently.

"I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! I killed him, I'm sorry!" He wept, and she stroked a hand over his hair as she hugged him tightly.

"It wasn't your fault." She murmured over and over, knowing he wasn't really hearing her but unable to stop all the same. This went on for what seemed like an age until she suddenly saw movement to her side and found Severus standing there, a potion in his hand.

"Dreamless sleep." He murmured in explanation. She nodded, not liking it but at a loss as to what else to do. By now, Harry was practically on her lap so she took the potion and eased back so that he wasn't buried quite so deeply in her shoulder any more, and held the potion to his lips.

"Drink it, _a leannan_ , it will help." She said gently but he shook his head, trembling with the force of his sobs.

"I'm a murderer!" He gasped out and she tightened the arm that was around his shoulders, pressing the potion more firmly to his mouth.

"Drink." She told him, and the next time he opened his mouth to gasp for breath she simply tipped the potion in, causing him to splutter and gasp between sobs. He quietened almost immediately, tears running down his cheeks still as he drifted to sleep with his fingers tightly entwined in her robes.

She untangled him gently, laying him back into the bed and covering him up with the sheet before removing his glasses and placing them on the table next to his head. She turned to see Dumbledore standing at the door of the bed and her eyes flashed. "Are you happy, old man?" She hissed and he visibly jerked in surprise. "Did all your manipulations work? You knew this would happen when you put that damned stone in this castle! Did you get what you wanted? Was scarring an eleven year old boy for the rest of his life worth it?"

She spat the words at him, stalking past him before he could overcome his shock to answer her. Shape, however, was smirking slightly as he caught up to her. "I don't think anyone has spoken to him like that in several decades." He said conversationally. She hissed at him.

"Well if they had maybe he wouldn't have come under the impression that he's infallible! He's eleven, Severus! He's a child. He shouldn't have had to go through that." She sagged against a wall, pressing her back against it as she closed her eyes for a moment. She looked at him with tired eyes. "I know what you think of him, Severus, but he's not James. Oh, he looks like him, yes, but he doesn't act like him."

"He's arrogant and conceited and-" Snape began but Minerva shook her head.

"No he's not." She interrupted. "You see what you want to see, because it's easier to hate a child if you don't see him as one. He's Lily's son in character, so blatantly Severus, if you cared to look. He's kind and caring and brave and clever. You just refuse to see it."

She walked away then, not caring if he took heed of her words or not. Harry needed Emmeline, she knew. The train didn't leave until the day after tomorrow and they couldn't very well keep him drugged until then.

"Hurry _up_ Ron!" she heard a voice hiss.

"I'm coming, shout at Hermione instead would you?"

" _I'm_ keeping up just fine Ronald, you're the one lagging behind!"

"If you don't all shut up we're going to get caught!"

"Well you're hardly helping are you George? Alright there Neville?"

"I'm fine. But is this really a good idea?"

"No!"

"Shut up Hermione!"

Minerva cleared her throat, enjoying the rabbit-in-the-headlights look the five in front of her gave as they saw her. "What exactly are you doing?"

They all exchanged a look. "We wanted to see Harry, Professor." Said George bravely. Fred nodded vigorously.

"Oh?"

"Please professor!" Hermione pleaded. "He's our friend."

"W… we're worried about him." Neville said in a small voice. She looked at them for a long moment.

"Come with me." she told them crisply, leading to them to a nearby empty classroom and casting locking and silencing charms on the door. "You are Harry's friends, yes? So what I say next must not leave this room. I need your word."

They all murmured their agreements. "Is Harry alright?" asked Ron.

"Physically, he's fine, yes." She confirmed, weighing up whether or not she had the right to reveal the information she was about to.

"Physically?" Hermione questioned. Minerva pressed her lips together.

"Harry is… struggling… with the idea he killed a man. He got very upset when he woke earlier, to the point he had to be drugged with dreamless sleep potion before he would calm."

"But Quirrell had you-know-who sticking out of his head!" Ron cried in confusion. Hermione hit him in the arm.

"Don't be an idiot Ron." She scolded.

"Quirrell was a normal bloke at one point." Fred said.

"And now he's dead." Continued George.

"But it wasn't-"

"Harry's fault-"

"So why-"

"Does he feel-"

"Guilty?" they finished together.

"Because he believes he's a murderer." McGonagall said simply. "He isn't- from what we can work out Quirrell could have chosen to walk away from Harry- instead he chose to allow Voldemort to possess him and then to do as he was told."

"But Harry doesn't see it that way." Hermione guessed.

"No. Really, he needs to go home with his family but with only two days until the Express leaves he won't be granted permission to go early. Which is why I need you five to sit with him and help him." She explained. They all exchanged nervous looks. "I understand if you don't wish to and this is optional- nobody will think any less of you if you refuse."

"We'll do it." Neville said, prompting nods from the others. She smiled faintly at him.

"Good. Decide amongst yourselves a schedule. He'll sleep until morning, so get some sleep until then."

They nodded their confirmations and bade her goodnight, and filing from the classroom in whispers amongst themselves and leaving her to wonder if she'd done the right thing.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry sat staring out of the window, brooding, two weeks after Hogwarts had broken up. The death of Quirrell still haunted him, despite the reassurances from his family. His reverie was broken, however, when his bedroom door flew open to reveal Rosalie.

"Hurry up and get changed!" she ordered. "You're coming out with me."

"No thanks."

"Did that sound like offer? I'm sorry- You _are_ coming with me whether you like it or not." Rosalie crossed her arms, eyes flashing.

"Where?" Harry twisted to face her.

" _L'académie_. I spoke to Madame DuBois, she says you're welcome to join whenever you're home from school."

"Rosie, I'm not like you…" Harry started but paused when the tiny blonde just rolled her eyes.

" _Non._ " She agreed. "But you're driving us all crazy moping around. You're coming with me today, then we're going to ballet and Krav Maga next week as well. I'll give you a pass on gymnastics though. Get dressed." She flounced out, leaving Harry blinking in surprise before he sighed heavily, levering himself to his feet and dragging himself over to the dresser to get changed.

To his annoyance, Harry did feel better after several hours dancing and singing and had even been happy to see several of his muggle friends there as well. Rose, of course, looked unbearably smug was wise enough to say nothing, even when they arrived home to their smirking mother.

"Have fun?" she asked lightly, laughing when Harry just growled and stomped up to his room. He wasn't there long, however, when a knock sounded on his door. He raised his head as it opened.

"Are you still sulking?" his aunt asked in amusement. He scowled.

"I am not sulking."

"Of course not. Put your shoes on and come with me."

He frowned. "Where?"

"Would you just trust me? Hurry up."

She left, and he glowered. "Is people dragging me out the house without explanation going to become a habit?" he muttered to himself, but grabbed his trainers nonetheless and stomped downstairs.

"Come along." Minerva blew a kiss towards Emmeline and Rose, who were sitting curled up together on the sofa and she ushered Harry out the door.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Once beyond the wards, she held out her arm to him and apparated them to what looked like London. "Auntie…" Harry began, but was cut off by a squeal from behind him.

"Harry!"

"Oof-!" his arms were suddenly full of bushy brown hair. "Hermione?"

"Let the poor bloke breathe, Hermione!"

"Ron?"

Harry felt a grin spread over his face as he looked around to see the pair alongside Neville and the Weasley twins. "What-?"

"Hi Harry!"

"Come on, the others are waiting!" Hermione carolled them along the street.

"Others? What-?"

"We're kidnapping you!" laughed Neville. "Professor McGonagall helped us- we're spending the day in London doing all the muggle tourist attractions."

"We have Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs is with us…" George began.

"And a few Ravenclaws with Daphne and Tracey from Slytherin." Finished Fred.

"So come on!"

Harry found himself running down the street with the group, laughing at the expressions of those who had never been in the muggle world before and suddenly found themselves confronted with street performers and shops that seemed rom another world. The day passed in a haze of laughter and joking, with plenty of sweets and junk food and Harry didn't feel okay, not completely, but he thought that maybe- just maybe- he might in the future.

And the holidays continued, with schoolwork and training during the day, clubs in the evenings and weekends and their usual Sunday trips every week. Until, one Saturday, he was woken up even earlier than usual by Rose jumping on his bed.

"Happy birthday!" she sang. He blinked, groaning.

"What?"

"It's the thirty-first, numpty. Happy birthday!" his mother came into the room, balancing three plates of pancakes. Rose jumped up and took two from her, handing one to Harry once he'd sat up and settling with her own on the end of his bed while Emmeline sat on his desk chair. "So what do you want to do today?"

"Can we… can we go to a theme park?" Harry asked eagerly. Emmeline laughed.

"Really? Didn't we do that last year?"

"No, that was the zoo." Recalled Rose.

"It was the year before." Harry said cheerfully, munching on a pancake. Emmeline sighed in fond exasperation, but nodded.

"Theme park it is." she agreed. "Eat up- we'll have to get the bus."

Harry and Rose immediately began to wolf their pancakes down while their mother just shook her head in amusement. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Rosalie dug into the pocket of her dressing gown and chucked a package at him. "Happy birthday brother-dear."

"Thanks." Harry swallowed a mouthful of food and tore into the gift, blinking at the sight of a mirror. "Um… thank you?"

Rose snorted. "It's not a mirror Harry. Or, well it is but it isn't only a mirror. Look…"

Harry watched curiously as she withdrew an identical mirror to the one he held. "Harry Potter." She said clearly, and Harry started as her face appeared in his mirror.

"Good isn't it?" she beamed.

"I don't get it…"

"It's like a phone, only face to face. Mum and I can use it to talk with you when you're at school. Saves poor Hedwig flying back and forth all the time. It's faster too. She got the idea from an old school friend." Rose explained, glancing to Emmeline who was looking down.

"Brilliant!" Harry grinned.

"And here's mine." Emmeline handed him another gift as she began to tidy the plates away. Harry opened it quickly, grinning at the contents.

"Thanks mum!" he hopped out of bed and rushed over to hug her tightly, laughing when she stumbled slightly.

"Brat." She muttered but pressed a kiss to his head before he rushed away to release the practise snitch from its confines. Rose rolled her eyes at him. "Get dressed!" Emmeline ordered as she gathered the plates. "There are presents from your friends, uncle and aunts downstairs as well." she disappeared, closely followed by Rosalie. Harry dashed over to his wardrobe, grabbing his jeans and the first top he found before rushing to the bathroom, and was downstairs in half an hour. He scowled when he realised Rose was already there, perched on the side in the kitchen and swinging her legs happily.

"What's wrong brother-mine?" she asked innocently. He stuck his tongue out at her.

"If the wind changes you'll be stuck like that!" his mother told him as she entered. He dug into his presents excitedly, Rose laughing at him before his mother appeared, handing them both their jackets and hustling them out the door. They spent the day at the theme park, laughing and giggling together. Emmeline begged off one of the roller-coaster, choosing instead to sit on a bench while Harry and Rose queued up.

"Rosie can I ask you something?" Harry said suddenly. She nodded, looking at him enquiringly. "Are you sure about not going to school?"

"Yes. Harry, apart from all the other reasons, have you thought of the implications if I did?"

Harry frowned. "Implications for who?"

"For you." Rose shrugged. "If I go to Hogwarts, Dumbledore knows you have an adopted sister and therefore that you aren't with the Dursleys. And if I go to Beuxbatons, there is a high possibility that someone from a ministry function will recognise me and start asking questions about why my brother doesn't go to school with me."

"You're not going because of me?" Harry sounded horrified but Rose rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm not going because I don't want to. Your situation is just a sort of happy side effect." She glanced up, saw the line was moving forward and urged Harry on. "Would you stop worrying about me? I'd be more worried about whether a troll is going to pay you a visit again this year."

Harry dropped the subject and climbed into the car next to her, and they continued around the park with their mother right up until it closed, at which point they got the bus back home. "Good birthday?" their mother looked over the back of the seat, smiling at the sight of Rosalie asleep on his shoulder as Harry nodded sleepily.

"Brilliant birthday." He confirmed in a yawn, feeling his own head drooping. She smiled at him, reaching back to smooth his hair from his face as his eyes closed.

"Happy birthday baby." She whispered.

Harry barely remember getting home, vaguely recalled the sensation of being apparated but he was so tired it had barely registered. When he woke up, however, he was in bed fully clothed and once showered and changed he wandered downstairs, only to run into his mother on the way out the door. Rose was trailing after her, handing her wand to her.

"I have to go to work- some sort of emergency." She told them. "Be good- your Aunt is due in a few hours anyway."

She kissed them both on the head before grabbing her bag. "I love you both!"

"Love you too." They chimed. She waved as she dashed out the door, leaving them to begin their schoolwork.

"I don't get it." Harry frowned at his book as he lounged on the floor of the attic. "Why would powdered eye of newt be added to the yellow sap paste before the powdered frogs legs? Why would it make a difference?"

Rose flopped down next to him and pulled his book closer. "Look, it reacts differently." She pointed, continuing her explanation until they heard noise from downstairs.

"Harry? Rose?"

"Up here Auntie!" Rose called back and before long the Scottish witch appeared in the doorway. "I'm glad you're here- I think Harry's brain stayed at Hogwarts." Rose joked as she turned to face her, but the mirth faded when she saw her aunt's face. "What's wrong?"

Harry turned to face her as well, frowning. Their aunt came to kneel before them. "Children… there was an accident at the French ministry earlier today. Your mother… she was injured."

A beat passed.

"How badly?" Harry demanded. Minerva pressed her lips together.

"Very." She admitted. "She's at the hospital. Get your things together and we'll floo there now. The Delacours are already on their way."

Rosalie and Harry exchanged a frightened look before rushing off to get their cloaks and shoes. Harry barely remembered the journey to the hospital, only vaguely realising that the Delacours were already there when he found himself engulfed in several tight hugs. What he did remember, however, was the torturous wait before the healer came out on the early hours of the next morning. "How is she?" Jean-Claude questioned.

"She was hit with an as-yet unidentified curse." The healer explained. "Her body is… shutting down, for lack of a better phrase. To be perfectly honest, we have no idea why."

"But you'll find out, won't you?" Rosalie asked. The healer hesitated.

"We'll certainly try." He promised. "But… this curse is quite unlike anything we've ever seen before. There is a possibility that-"

"Enough!" Minerva snapped. "They're children!"

The healer fell silent much to Harry and Rosalie's displeasure. "What happened? How was she injured" Harry spun around to face his uncle, who looked resigned.

"We don't know." He admitted. "She was found on the floor of her office- no one even knew she was in work today."

"She was called in this afternoon." Rose said quietly.

"Not by us." Jean said tiredly.

* * *

Rosalie was sitting huddled on the floor, knees to her chest with her arms wrapped tightly around herself while Harry was sat next to her, hugging himself tightly as he watched the hustle and bustle of the hospital around. Opposite, on a set of chairs the Delacours sat with Minerva.

It was as if none of them could summon the will to move, even when Gabrielle fell asleep on her mother's shoulder and Rose's tears had given way to a blank numbness.

Harry himself felt rather as if he were in a dream he couldn't wake from… or maybe nightmare was more appropriate. He looked up as the doctor approached and informed them they could go into the room, but only two at a time.

"They're children… couldn't one of us go in with them?" Jean-Claude asked. The doctor hesitated, but nodded at the pleading looks he received. Jean nudged Minerva forward, gesturing with a tilt of his head. Rosalie clung to her like a child, fingers fisted in her robe while Harry accepted the hand she offered him as they walked into the room.

Emmeline looked as if she were sleeping, albeit she was paler than normal. " _Maman…_ " choked Rose, stumbling forward to clutch at her hand. Harry moved more slowly, coming around to her other side and gently stroking the back of her hand. He recoiled instantly- it was ice cold. He now noticed the warming charms placed around her along with the high temperature of the room.

Rose sobbed just once, pressing her trembling fingers to her mouth as if to block any more. Their aunt didn't hesitate in gathering her in her arms but seemed to sense Harry would have rejected all attempts at contact and didn't do the same to him. "They deserve to die for this." He said lowly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Minerva flinch but didn't take the words back, meaning them with all his heart.

After a while, Minerva ushered them out again, quickly bidding goodbye to the Delacours and apparating them both home. It was horrendous, and Harry immediately doubled over to heave violently. Double side along was never fun, but he didn't think he or Rosie were up to flooing. They moved inside, mechanically getting ready for bed but then migrating back downstairs, curling up on the sofa together.

"What's going to happen now?" Rose asked, her voice croaky and harsh.

"We carry on the best we can." their aunt answered quietly.

"Rose can't stay here during term time." Harry spoke up. Rose frowned at him.

"Why not?!"

"You can't stay here alone Rosie." He pointed out.

She scowled at him. "I wouldn't be alone. Missy will be here."

"All alone with a house elf?" Minerva looked unhappy. "Rose, won't you come to Hogwarts? It's not too late… you'd be starting this year anyway…"

"No." Rose refused.

"Please Rosie-" Harry began but she shook her head.

" _Non!_ I am not like you Harry- while I love magic the magical world holds little appeal for me. I intend to carry on dancing and attending muggle school."

"But who will teach you magic?" Harry reasoned.

"I'll teach myself." She shrugged, eyes flashing.

"What about if I helped you as well, when I could?" Minerva suggested in an attempt to ward off the impending argument. Rose smiled gratefully at her, nodding.

"Yes please."

"And you will owl me every day." Minerva added in a warning tone. Rose nodded vigorously.

"And if your schoolwork- any of it- if it begins to suffer or your grades drop drop you will enrol in Hogwarts regardless."

Rose made a face, but reluctantly nodded her agreement.

Minerva sighed. "Then okay."

Harry shifted uncomfortably. This was a bad idea, he thought gloomily to himself.

 **Hi everyone! Thank you so much to everyone who is reading, favouriting, following and reviewing!**

 **I've set up a poll on who you would like to eventually see Harry with- please vote because every time I decide I then change my mind the next day!**

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	8. Chapter 8

**Hi everyone! Thanks you so much for reading!**

 **Don't forget to vote in the poll!**

 **X**

Shopping by themselves was a bizarre experience, Harry decided. He and Rosie had travelled to _Le Boulevard_ alone- despite moving into _Le Place des Anges_ , Minerva still had her job to do at Hogwarts and was busy with the incoming muggleborns, while the Delacours had left for a family holiday before Fleur returned to Beuxbatons.

"Let's trade shops." Rose suggested. "I'll go get our potions ingredients - you do the books."

Harry shrugged. "Okay." He agreed, wondering if they could get home before evening this way. He wandered off down the road towards the book shop, quickly finding what they both needed in amongst the numerous shelves. "Gilderoy Lockhart?" he mumbled. "He's an idiot- why do we need his books?" But he payed for them anyway, wrinkling his nose when he saw the crowds outside the door. Instead of battling through them he wheeled around and slipped from a side entrance, entering a quiet alley. He closed the door behind him, turned around and yelped.

A house elf stood in front of him, dressed in a dirty pillowcase- Missy wore clean dresses, Harry thought absently as he studied the creature, ones she made herself. "Hello…" he said nervously.

"Harry Potter!" The elf squeaked. "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you sir… such an honour it is…"

"Um… hi Dobby." Harry greeted tentatively. "Was there- was there any particular reason you're here?"

"Oh yes sir!" Dobby nodded enthusiastically. "Dobby has come to tell you sir… well, it's difficult to know where to begin…"

"Dobby." Harry said gently, kneeling down in front of him and shifting the packages to one arm. "How did you find me?"

Dobby blinked. "Dobby is an elf, sir." He said, as if that should explain everything.

"Right…"

"Dobby has come to warn Harry Potter sir." The elf wrung his hands, bouncing up and down on his toes.

Harry frowned. "Warn me?"

"Yes sir! Dobby must protect Harry Potter sir, even if he must shut his ears in the oven later. Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts."

Harry raised his eyebrows, sitting back on his heels. "I'm sorry?"

The elf nodded vigorously. "You must not, sir! There is danger at Hogwarts- Harry Potter must stay here!"

"What's the danger Dobby?" asked Harry calmly, even as everything inside him clenched. But the elf shook his head.

"There is a plot-a plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts. Harry Potter must not put himself in peril!" he said urgently.

"Harry? Harry, are you here?" Harry heard Rose calling. He looked over to Dobby.

"Thank you for the warning Dobby." He said formally, rising and moving away.

"Harry Potter must give his word!" the elf asked frantically. Harry glanced back at him.

"You should go home Dobby, before your masters miss you."

He darted out of the alley before the elf could say anything else and collided with Rose. "Hey!" she said indignantly. "Harry!"

"Sorry." He apologised, catching hold of her arm and tugging her away. "But the strangest thing just happened…"

* * *

"Harry James Potter, if you don't come down these stairs right this instant I'll leave you to floo to the station!" His aunt yelled up the stairs in frustrated a few weeks later. Rose giggled.

"Coming, coming!" He rushed down the stairs, his trunk thudding behind him.

"Oh for-" Minerva waved her wand and it began to float to the bottom, where she quickly shrunk it and handed it to him. "Just say 'Lily Flower' and it will go back to normal. It's keyed to your voice." She told him. She turned and hugged Rose tightly.

"Owl me." she said warningly. Rose nodded.

"Hedwig is already waiting upstairs." She promised. " _Je t'aime, tata._ "

" _Je t'aime, A leannan._ " her aunt returned, kissing her forehead warmly before Rose turned to Harry, throwing her arms around him.

"Stay out of trouble, brother-dear."

"You too, _ma petite soeur._ " He hugged her back fiercely, glancing over to where Missy stood at the kitchen and stepping over to hug her too. "Bye Missy."

"Master Harry must be being careful!" she wagged her finger at her. "No trolls or bad wizards this year."

He grinned. "I'll try." he stepped back to take his Aunt's arm as she bade goodbye to Missy as well, before she apparated them to the station at Kings cross, to a quiet corner of the platform where she bit her lip and looked at him worriedly.

"Will you be alright waiting?" she asked.

"Of course." He assured her. "Go to Hogwarts."

She reached out to embrace him and he nestled his head into her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'll be fine. I'll see you tonight, Auntie."

"I'll see you tonight." She stepped away, half turning before she paused. "Harry? Forget about hiding our relationship- if you need me, come and find me."

Harry nodded and she vanished with a pop, leaving Harry alone on the platform apart from a few nervous looking first years nestled together at the other end. With a sigh, he climbed onto the train and settled into a cabin at the back, pulling out a book on potions that Appolline had bought him for his birthday.

The hours passed quickly, children and parents beginning to trickle in as the clock struck 10, the platform filling up quickly once half past had come. He didn't pay it much attention, until he heard exasperated tones exclaimed loudly "Oh, Neville!"

He grinned, glancing out the window to see his dorm mate standing with his grandmother, who was looking at him in frustration. Quickly, he enlarged his trunk and left it on the floor to save the cabin and climbed from the carriage. "Neville!" he called.

The boy looked up, and smiled. "Alright Harry?"

"Alright?" Harry returned with a grin, bending down to catch Trevor as he made a break for freedom and handed him back. "Hello Madame Longbottom." He acknowledged respectfully.

"Gran, you remember Harry Potter, from New Years?" Neville reminded her quickly.

"Of course I do Neville." His grandmother cast an eye over him. "Where's your guardian boy? Is she not seeing you off?"

"Oh, I got here early." Harry assured her. "Need help with your trunk? I have a cabin saved."

"Oh, thanks."

Together they hauled it in and onto a luggage rack before Harry glanced at Neville. "I don't think your Gran likes me very much."

"Oh, she likes you loads." Neville guaranteed him. "That's the problem."

"Huh?"

"She doesn't want to like you." He supplied. "She thinks if you hadn't been around, my parents would still be okay before his supporters wouldn't have been trying to find out what happened to you-know-who."

Harry stopped dead and stared at him, speechless. Neville noticed.

"Oh, I didn't mean to make you feel bad." He bit his lip. "Of course no one else thinks like that. It's just Gran, and to be honest I don't think she really feels that way since she got to know you over New Years a bit better."

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "I'll wait for you on the train." He mumbled, hurrying away before Neville could argue. He returned to the cabin, picking up his book until Neville entered again.

"Harry-" he began but the green eyed boy cut him off.

"Don't worry about it." he said. "Now how was your summer?"

As they chatted away, it drew closer and closer to eleven o'clock, but there was still no sign of the Weasleys or Hermione, although various other people stuck their head in to say hello. Finally, just minutes till eleven Harry spotted the group come rushing onto the platform. Unanimously, he and Neville hurried over to help them load the numerous trunks onto the train, each gaining a tight hug from Mrs Weasley.

Behind them, the train whistled and Harry gestured quickly to the redheads, jumping up to join Neville and Hermione at the door of the train. "Come on!" he urged and Mrs Weasley released her daughter- Gerri? Jenny? Ginny? Harry wondered uncertainly- to allow her to climb on after her brothers.

The train took off and Harry led them to the cabin he and Neville had commandeered. It was a squash, with eight of them once the twins' friend Lee joined them but they managed and after the customary story exchange Harry told them about Dobby and his warning.

"What do you think it could be?" asked Hermione, chewing her lip. Harry shrugged.

"No idea." He admitted. "But it doesn't sound good, does it?"

"Harry mate…" Fred started. George continued.

"Why is it always…"

"You?" they finished. Harry shrugged.

"I really wish it wasn't." he admitted dryly. He glanced over to Ginny (he'd asked Lee her name), who was sat curled up and stiff, writing in a book balanced on her knee. "Are you aiming for Gryffindor too?"

She squeaked but nodded, blushing bright red before ducking her head to scribble in her diary again. Harry blinked, turning to Ron. "What did I do?"

"Nothing. She's been like that all summer. Hasn't stopped talking about you- dead annoying really."

Harry frowned but before he could say anything else Hermione was tugging at his arm. "Can I talk to you?"

She hauled him outside the cabin to the end of the carriage, glaring at a first year who was scurrying past. "Hermione!" Harry protested, rubbing his sore arm. Hermione spun to face him.

"Tell me the truth." She demanded. Harry blinked.

"About what?"

"About you!" Hermione exclaimed. "I heard you last year- when we were talking to Professor McGonagall about the stone, you called her ' _tata'_. I remember enough French from primary school to know that it means Auntie. What's going on Harry?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. You must be mistaken." Harry said coolly, turning to go but Hermione spun him around again.

"Don't you dare Harry Potter!" she snapped. "I'm one of your best friends- at least have the decency to tell me the truth."

Harry fixed a blank gaze on her. "There's nothing to tell."

"Then you won't mind me asking Ron if he remembers too, will you? He's in with Neville and his brothers and sister now, let's go shall we?"

Hermione stepped away and clenching his teeth, Harry caught hold of her to stop her from leaving. "Okay!" he hissed. She looked at him expectantly.

"Hermione, you can't tell anyone." He warned. She frowned, but he cut her off before she could speak. "Lives could be in danger, if you did. I'm only telling you because you're stubborn enough not to let it go if I didn't. Promise me you'll never tell a soul."

"I promise." She agreed after a moment. Harry sighed.

"'Mione, you remember all those books about what happened the night my parents died? Did they ever say what happened to me after?"

She tipped her head. "They said you'd been hidden with your muggle relatives- your only relatives- to protect you."

"Well, that's partly true. I was sent to my muggle relatives but they didn't protect me. I slept in the cupboard under the stairs, I was made to do all the cooking and cleaning- yes, with a hot stove and oil and dangerous cleaning products. My aunt and uncle allowed their son to hit and punch me, allowed my uncle's sister's dog to attack me. I was locked up without food or water if I didn't do as they told me, or sometimes for no reason at all. I didn't learn to walk or talk until I was four, and even then it was only because they didn't wasn't people to ask questions. I wasn't allowed to do my homework, I wasn't even allowed to go to school until it was legally necessary." Harry explained. Hermione had her hands over her mouth and tears in her eyes.

"Harry…" she began but he shook his head.

"You wanted to know." He told her flatly. "I was bought nothing- my cousin was morbidly obese and still allowed to keep eating whatever he wished while I was starved. I had to wear his old clothes, I wasn't allowed any toys although I managed to steal a few from the rubbish bins. When I got sun stroke from gardening all day in August, they chucked me in the cupboard and forgot about me."

"How long?" Hermione whispered in horror. "How long were you there for?"

"Until I was six. One of my mother's best friends had been searching for me. I was placed with the Dursleys illegally by Professor Dumbledore- my parents will was ignored, I should have gone to my Godparents or the other guardians they assigned. My muggle relatives were nowhere on that list. Emmeline was, third after my godfather and godmother. She found me, and persuaded the Dursleys to sign over custody. Then she took me home to France and legally adopted me so I couldn't be sent back to them. I've lived their ever since."

Hermione looked dismayed. "Professor Dumbledore sent you there?"

"And as far as he's concerned, I'm still there. He's never bothered to check on me." Harry told her blankly. "Professor McGonagall isn't technically my aunt, although she's my sister's Godmother. But she helped raise me. When my mother's parents died when she was still at school, Aunt Min took her in because she didn't have any other relatives. I think they drifted apart for a while, but then reconnected just before mum adopted me."

Harry winced when he realised he was still talking about his mother in present tense, wondering whether he should be or not.

"And you keep this hidden because of Professor Dumbledore." Hermione said shakily. Harry nodded.

"He already placed me with the Dursleys illegally once. What's to say he won't do it again?" he saw the look on her face, and sighed. "I don't think he's a bad person. I think he's… misguided, and not used to the possibility that he isn't always right. But I also know that because of that, he's completely unwilling to accept that he might be. He won't even consider anything else. Aunt Min tried to talk to him but he literally told her to stop questioning him because he was right, and closed the subject."

"I'm so sorry Harry." Hermione threw her arms around him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder. "I'll keep your secret." She promised.

"Thanks 'Mione."

Suddenly, Fred and George appeared from the cabin, glancing up and down before spotting the two standing together. "Oi! We're nearly there- better get changed!" they called.

Hermione took Ginny to the bathroom to change while the boys simply stayed in the cabin, stuffing their clothes in their trunks just as the train drew into the station. "Ready?" Hermione poked her head in.

"Coming!"

The group walked up together, steering Ginny towards Hagrid, who waved cheerily at them before continuing up towards the castle. "Whoa!" Ron exclaimed when they caught sight of the carriages.

"But that's not possible!" Hermione gaped.

"Brilliant." Grinned Harry.

"They pull themselves." The twins explained together. They climbed into one, Hermione peering out uncertainly and yelping as it began to move.

Harry smirked at her. "Welcome home."


	9. Chapter 9

The sorting had been relatively mundane, with the hat singing a silly song about being left on a shelf all year with no one to talk to and Ginny getting into Gryffindor just like her brothers. Their first morning, however, was busy with herbology followed by transfiguration before lunch, Ron's inability to transfigure his beetle into a button putting him in a thoroughly horrible mood which wasn't helped by Hermione smugly showing the handful of perfect buttons that she'd created.

The situation had quickly dissolved during the latest meal and Harry sighed, quickly changing the subject before he had to listen to another shouting match. "What've we got this afternoon?"

"Defence against the dark arts." Hermione answered immediately. Ron peeked over her shoulder at her timetable and immediately grabbed it.

"Why," he demanded, "have you outlined all of DADA in love hearts?"

Hermione blushed fiercely, snatching it back. "Let's go." she urged. Harry snorted, following her out into the overcast courtyard and exchanging an amused shrug with Ron. Hermione sat on a bench, taking out one of Lockhart's books while Ron and Harry chatted about quidditch, until a prickling began on the back of Harry's neck.

He glanced around, subtly shifting until he spotted a mousy-haired boy watching him with an awe-struck expression. He was a Gryffindor, if Harry remembered correctly. Harry raised an eyebrow at him and he went bright red.

"A… Alright Harry?" he said breathlessly. "I'm Colin Creevey. I'm in Gryffindor too. Do you think- would it be okay if- could I have a picture?"

Harry blinked. "What? Why?"

"So I can prove I met you! I know all about you- Everyone's told me. About how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and everything and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead. And a boy in my dormitory said if I develop the film in the right potion, the pictures'll move." Colin bounced in excitement before continuing: "It's amazing here, isn't it? I never knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till I got the letter from Hogwarts. My dad's a milkman, he couldn't believe it either. So I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him. And it'd be really good if I had one of you" imploringly, he looked at Harry - "maybe your friend could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, could you sign it?"

"Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos, Potter?" Loud and scathing, Draco Malfoy's voice echoed around the courtyard. He had stopped right behind Colin, flanked as always by his large and thuggish friends Crabbe and Goyle.

"Everyone line up!" Malfoy hollered to the crowd. "Harry Potter's giving out signed photos!"

Harry took a deep breath. "No, I'm not." He said calmly.

"You're just jealous." piped up Colin.

"Jealous?" said Malfoy in a more normal tone now that half the courtyard was listening in. "Of what? I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special, myself."

"No Malfoy, you think getting a God-awful brand on your arm does." Harry replied quietly, but his voice carried across the whole courtyard which went utterly silent at his declaration.

Malfoy looked livid. "Why you-!" he threatened, stepping forward but was stopped when Ron moved in front of Harry.

"Eat slugs, Malfoy," he said angrily. Crabbe started rubbing his knuckles in a menacing way.

"Be careful, Weasley," sneered Malfoy, turning his attention to the redhead. "You don't want to start any trouble or your Mummy will have to come and take you away from school." He sneered. "Think your parents will send you out to earn your keep? They couldn't afford to keep you otherwise." A knot of Slytherin fifth-years nearby laughed loudly at this. "Weasley would like a signed photo, Potter," smirked Malfoy. "It'd be worth more than his family's whole house -"

Ron whipped out his Sellotaped wand, but Hermione shut Voyages with Vampires with a snap and whispered, "Look out!"

"What's all this, what's all this?" Gilderoy Lockhart was striding toward them, his turquoise robes fluttering behind him. "Who's giving out signed photos?" He caught sight of Harry, and stopped dead. "Harry Potter…" he beamed. "I have so been wanting to meet you!"

Harry felt his face begin burning with humiliation when the man wrapped an arm around him, drawing him in and he saw Malfoy slide- smirking- back into the crowd. "Come on then, Mr. Creevey," said Lockhart, beaming at Colin. "A double portrait, can't do better than that, and we'll both sign it for you." Colin fumbled for his camera and took the picture as the bell rang behind them, signalling the start of afternoon classes. "Off you go, move along there," Lockhart encouraged to the crowd and he set off back to the castle with Harry, who was wishing he knew a good Vanishing Spell, still clasped to his side. "A word to the wise, Harry," said Lockhart paternally as they entered the building through a side door. "I covered up for you back there with young Creevey - if he was photographing me, too, your schoolmates won't think you're setting yourself up so much . . . ." Deaf to Harry's stammers, Lockhart swept him down a corridor lined with staring students and up a staircase. "Let me just say that handing out signed pictures at this stage of your career isn't sensible - looks a tad big headed, Harry, to be frank. There may well come a time when, like me, you'll need to keep a stack handy wherever you go, but" - he gave a little chortle - "I don't think you're quite there yet."

They had reached Lockhart's classroom and now in private, Harry twisted and grabbed the repellent man by the wrist, simultaneously stamping on his inner foot before wrenching the arm over his own head and kicking Lockhart's legs out the rest of the way from under him, using his own momentum to slam him to the floor. The man grunted, his breath whooshing out as he lay sprawled in the classroom.

"Touch me again, and I'll do a lot worse than take you down." Harry smiled sweetly, and took a seat at the very back of the class, where he busied himself with piling all seven of Lockhart's books in front of him, so that he could avoid looking at the real thing.

The rest of the class came clattering in, and Ron and Hermione sat down on either side of Harry. "You could've fried an egg on your face." smirked Ron. "You'd better hope Creevey doesn't meet Ginny, or they'll be starting a Harry Potter fan club."

"Shut up," groaned Harry. The last thing he needed was for Lockhart to hear the phrase Harry Potter fan club.

When the whole class was seated, Lockhart cleared his throat loudly- apparently recovered- and silence fell. He reached forward, picked up Neville Longbottom's copy of Travels with Trolls, and held it up to show his own, winking portrait on the front. "Me," he said, pointing at it and winking as well. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most- Charming-Smile Award - but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"

He waited for them to laugh but Harry just smacked his head onto the table.

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books -well done. I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about- just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in!" He handed out the test and glanced at his watch. "You have thirty minutes - start - now!"

Harry looked down at his paper and read:

1\. What is Gilderoy Lockhart 's favourite colour?

2\. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?

3\. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?

On and on it went, over three sides of paper, right down to: When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday, and what would his ideal gift be?

Harry smirked, bending over his paper and tapping his lip with his quill. _His own hair colour._ He wrote for the first. _To contribute massively to the overpopulation of the world_ was for the second. He pondered the third for a while, torn between _remaining in the closet for so long_ and _not tripping over his robes on an hourly basis._

He continued like this the whole way through until half an hour later, Lockhart collected the papers and rifled through them at the front of the class and tutting. "Hardly any of you remembered that my favourite colour is lilac. I say so in Year with the Yeti. And a few of you need to read Wanderings with Werewolves more carefully - I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples - though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogdens Old Firewhisky!"

He gave them another roguish wink. Ron was now staring at Lockhart with an expression of disbelief on his face; Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were sitting in front, were shaking with silent laughter. Hermione, on the other hand, was listening to Lockhart with rapt attention and started when he mentioned her name. ". . . but Miss Hermione Granger knew my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair-care potions - good girl! In fact" - he flipped her paper over. "Full marks! Where is Miss Hermione Granger?"

Hermione raised a trembling hand. "Excellent!" beamed Lockhart. "Quite excellent! Take ten points for Gryffindor! And so - to business!"

He bent down behind his desk and lifted a large, covered cage onto it. "Now - be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizard-kind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm."

In spite of himself, Harry leaned around his pile of books for a better look at the cage. Lockhart placed a hand on the cover. Dean and Seamus had stopped laughing now. Neville had clenched his fists from his front row seat. "I must ask you not to scream," said Lockhart in a low voice. "It might provoke them."

The whole class held its breath and Lockhart whipped off the cover. "Yes!" he said dramatically. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies."

Harry shook his head while Seamus dissolved into laughter next to Dean, who had both his hands clapped to his mouth as he struggled to remain calm. "Nope. No no no." Harry said, sweeping his books into his bag and marching to the front of the class. Lockhart was blinking at him.

"Is- is there a problem Harry?"

"May I have a copy of that test please sir?" Harry asked politely. Confused, Lockhart handed him one.

"Thank you."

And Harry turned on his heel and walked out of class.

He was going to get an earful from multiple people, he knew, but couldn't really bring himself to care. He went straight to the transfiguration classroom, peering in the door to see a group of sixth years. His aunt spotted him immediately, frowning worriedly but he smiled reassuringly and mouthed 'office!'

She nodded, and he withdrew, padding over to her office and greeting the portrait that hung at the entrance. "Hullo Sir Knight."

"Hello young Harry! How was your summer?" the knight asked jovially.

"It was okay, thank you. A leannan."

"Correct! You may enter!" the portrait swung open and Harry slipped inside, dropping his bag to the floor and curling up in one of the chairs, pulling out a book to read until Minerva could slip away. It took twenty minutes before she entered and quickly cast privacy charms.

"What happened?" she asked immediately. Wordlessly, Harry handed her the test from Lockhart. She read it, frown deepening the further she got. "What in Merlin's name is this?" she demanded.

"That was our test in DADA. Followed by another fifteen minutes to mark them and the plan was then an in depth lesson on Cornish pixies." Harry explained flatly.

"You're not serious?"

"Yep." Harry sat back in his chair. "Quite frankly, I'm not sure whether this year or last year is worse."

Minerva sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she sank into the seat next to him. "He was the _only_ applicant for the teaching position this year." She muttered.

"Auntie, with all due respect we'd be better off without a teacher!" exclaimed Harry incredulously.

She sighed again. "I'll talk to professor Dumbledore." She promised. "Have you spoken to Rose?"

Harry shook his head. "I was going to tonight. Does she need to owl you if she talks to me?"

"No- just tell me if she doesn't talk to you and Hedwig hasn't arrived." Minerva watched him for a moment. "What's really wrong Harry?"

"Nothing." Harry denied. She arched an eyebrow.

"I know that's not true." She said gently. "What's wrong _a leannan?_ "

Harry bit his lip. "I keep thinking about Quirrell." He confessed. "And mum, and Voldemort."

"Oh Harry…"

"He's going to come back again." He continued quietly. "I know he is- mum knew too, that's why she had Rose and me duelling everyday and doing twice as much defence as anything else."

Minerva pressed her lips together, her heart breaking for the boy in front of her. "Harry listen to me." she moved to kneel in front of him. "I promise you, no matter what happens with Lockhart, you will be prepared if V-Voldemort comes after you. And you will not be alone, not if I can help it."

She cupped his face and he nodded, sliding forwards to hug her. She rocked him slightly, pressing her lips to his temple when he buried his face in her shoulder and hot tears soaked into the fabric of her robe.

* * *

Rose had been rolling around in laughter when Harry described his class with Lockhart after they'd chatted for a while, but sobered towards the end of his story and nodded in agreement with their aunt. "She's right. Do you really think I'll be anywhere but right next to you?"

Harry smiled, pausing as he heard Ron shifting around in the next bed. Rose quietened too, until Harry had looked back to the mirror. "I should go." he whispered. She nodded.

"Call me soon, won't you?"

"I will." He promised. " _Bonne nuit_."

" _Bonne nuit_."

Harry tucked the mirror back into his trunk under the cloak and settled back into bed, hoping Lockhart wouldn't be around for his next lesson.


	10. Chapter 10

**It was my birthday yesterday! I'm officially twenty!**

 **Which is mildly terrifying...**

 **X**

Rose was half asleep in bed when she heard her mirror vibrating on her desk. She groaned, pushing herself upright and stumbling over to answer it, blinking blearily when appeared. "You couldn't have called half an hour ago?" she grouched, falling into the nearby chair.

"Sorry."

Rose frowned, her eyes finally connecting with her brain. "What's wrong?" she asked, noting how pale her brother was, his face pinched.

"I was walking earlier, and I heard this voice…" Harry began, then stopped. Rose raised her eyebrows.

"And…?"

Harry sighed. "Nobodyelsecanhearitandmrsnorrisgotpetrifiedafteritandi'vehearditbefore." He told her in a rush.

"And in a language I understand…?" Rosalie asked optimistically. Harry bit his lip and repeated what he'd said at a slower pace. Rose frowned. "Start from the beginning." She instructed gently, crossing her legs.

"Last week I went to see Aunt Min- on my way I heard this voice. It was quiet, saying 'kill' and 'blood'." Harry began. "No one else heard it though so I thought I was just imagining it. But then I heard it again today after Sir Nick's death day party. Hermione and Ron didn't hear it, but I followed it and led me to Mrs Norris who'd been petrified with the words 'the chamber of secrets has been opened."

"Mrs Norris is the cat, _oui_?" Rose checked. Harry nodded.

"No one knows how she was petrified. But because I was found with her, some people think it's me!"

Rose scoffed. "How would you petrify someone?"

"I have no idea." Harry shrugged. "But they still think it. And that voice… it was whispering kill and then Mrs Norris was hurt!"

"Did you tell Aunt Min?"

"No- Hermione said that even in the wizarding world, hearing voices wasn't a good thing."

Rose frowned. "Well, she's right but that doesn't mean you shouldn't tell anyone! There are treatments and she might be able to help find out the cause! Honestly, for someone with such a blind faith in authority what a ridiculous suggestion." She muttered under her breath.

"You think I should tell her then?"

"Of course you should!" Rose exclaimed irritably. "Why on earth wouldn't you? Especially with that message."

Harry shifted nervously. "Okay." He agreed quietly. "But there was something else…"

"What?"

"Ron was talking about a secret chamber at the school, an old legend." Harry explained. "And it seemed familiar but I don't remember why. Do you remember reading about it, or _maman_ talking about it?"

Rose nibbled her lip. "I don't know… it does sound familiar and it must have been _Maman_ because I haven't ever read a book on Hogwarts. Ask Aunt Min about the chamber, or look in the library. That's the big room with a lot of books in." she yawned. "Now can I go back to bed?"

Harry nodded. "Sorry- yeah. Night Rosie."

"Good night."

* * *

"Morning!" Rose grinned at Harry cheerfully, while he groaned.

"It's two hours before breakfast!"

"I leave for school in less than an hour. It's during breakfast for me." she held up a spoon of porridge with a smile. He groaned again, hauling himself upright and glancing out to check the others were still sleeping.

"Did Aunt Min tell you about Lockhart?" he asked. Her mouth full of porridge, she just shook her head. "He's staying. Apparently, 'classes are to be taught to the teachers' own standards, provided they follow a suitable curriculum.'" He quoted, scoffing. "Which means that as long as he mentions DADA, he's perfectly allowed to do whatever else he wants."

"But that's appalling! He's not teaching you anything!" Rose exclaimed angrily. Harry shrugged gloomily.

"Nothing Aunt Min can do. Appointments are the decision of the headmaster and if he refuses to do anything…"

"Auntie's hands are tied." Rose finished. Harry nodded.

"Still, it's not so bad- I'm having fun mucking up his 're-enactments' of his exploits."

"Re-enactments?" Rose asked apprehensively. Harry explained, and she dissolved into giggles. "He- really- makes you- do that?" she gasped out. Harry shrugged.

"He tries." He said cheerfully. Rose snickered.

"You're terrible. You'll have to show me the best ones in mum's pensive when you get home."

"Deal." Harry agreed.

"Has there been anything on the chamber?" his sister asked.

"Not really. The legend was along the line of what we already knew- hidden chamber in the school supposedly with a monster in it. Salazar Slytherin apparently built it."

"Wonderful." Rose said dryly. "Not much that could go wrong there."

"No one's ever found it, so I think everyone just assumed it wasn't real."

"Don't you love the wizarding world?"

"Yeah. Anyway, was there another reason you called? Or was it just to chat?"

Rose nodded, hastily swallowing a mouthful of tea. "Do you remember how I said Madame DuBois had asked me to a meeting after practice last night?"

"You were worried about it." Harry remembered.

" _Oui._ " Rose nodded with a shy smile. "She is moving me to the upper ballet class _._ "

"Already? Rosie, that's amazing!" her brother grinned. "That's… what, three years early?"

"Almost four." Rose blushed. "She said that I was advanced enough that there was little point in me remaining where I was, especially if I'm taking part in the showcase."

"Congratulations Rosie." Harry smiled warmly. "Have you told Aunt Min yet?"

"I owled her last night- thank you for letting me use Hedwig by the way."

"She wouldn't get much exercise otherwise." Harry shrugged. "I just use the mirror to talk to you, and the only other people outside Hogwarts are the Delacours."

"Speaking of, Aunt Appolline said to tell you she expects us to stay from Christmas Eve to at least New Years. I told her you might visit the Longbottoms again, or the Weasleys or such."

"I'll owl her when Hedwig arrives." Harry promised, then glanced up when movement caught his eye and he saw Neville sit up.

"Morning Harry." He yawned as he spotted the other boy awake.

"Hey Neville." He saw Dean begin to stir as well, and looked back to Rose. "You'll be careful in ballet, won't you?"

Rose looked amused. "Careful how?"

"I attend those classes with you, remember? I know what some of the other dancers are like."

Rose threw her head back and laughed. "Really brother-mine? I'm a performer- back stabbing and gossip comes with the territory. I can give just as good as I get, don't you worry about me."

"Yeah I know." Harry deadpanned. Neville had crossed to his bed, and now poked his head into the picture.

"Hello Rosalie." He greeted, and she smiled happily at him.

"Neville! How are you?"

"Very well thank you. Yourself?"

" _Trés bien, merci._ I'm afraid I should go- I'm going to be late for school as it is." Rose said apologetically.

"And that I'm not going to let you forget." Teased Harry. "Bye Rosie."

"Bye Rose." Neville gave her a wave.

" _Au revoir!_ "

The screen went blank and Harry was suddenly staring at his own face. he tucked the mirror away, shooting a grin at Neville. "What'd you think it will be today? Werewolves, hinkypunks?"

"Fairies?" he suggested dryly. Harry snorted.

"Lockhart or the creatures?"

Neville chuckled as he crossed back to his trunk, pulling out his robes for the day as they prepared for another lesson with Lockhart. Then something occurred to Harry.

"Hang on, where's Ron? He never gets up early…"

* * *

"Hello brother-dear. How's your arm?"

"Boneless." He said flatly.

"Aw, is someone Mr Grumpy-Face today?" Rose teased. Harry frowned.

"You'd be grumpy if a blond idiot had removed your bones."

"Definitely Mr Grumpy-Face." Rosalie grinned. "What's wrong? You didn't call just so I could tease you."

"A boy in the year below was petrified last night." Harry told her quietly. The smile fell from her face.

"Oh…"

Harry leant back against his pillows while Rosalie watched him carefully. "Did you know him?" she questioned gently. He nodded.

"He's in Gryffindor. He had this sort of… hero-worship thing about me."

"I'm sorry Harry."

"Yeah…" he fiddled with the covers of his bed for a moment, then remembered why he'd called. "They didn't know I was awake and could hear them though."

"Who?"

"Aunt Min and Dumbledore. Apparently, this isn't the first time the chamber's been opened."

Rose shot upright. "Someone opened it before?"

"Seems like it." Harry confirmed. "Dobby showed up again as well."

"Dobby?"

"The house elf from the bookshop?" he reminded her.

"Oh. Why exactly?"

"He was responsible for the crazy bludger." Harry explained. "Apparently, he was trying to save my life again."

She snorted. "He's putting it in danger in the first place! Do you think he was talking about the petrifications when he was warning you?"

"Possibly. And I might have an idea on who's behind them…"

She raised an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"I was thinking… Malfoy."

"The Malfoys? I don't know Harry- it seems a little blatant for their tastes."

"But Malfoy threatened the muggleborns! He calls them mudbloods!" Harry reminded her.

"That doesn't mean anything!" Rose pointed out. "Hundreds of wizards use slurs like that- it doesn't mean they set a monster loose in a school."

"But-"

"Harry! You can't just go around accusing people!" Rosalie admonished him. Harry sighed.

"I know." He admitted. "Evidence first."

"Exactly." Rose agreed. Then frowned. "Wait- what are you planning?"

"Me? Why would I be planning something?"

"Because I know you! Harry-!"

"Gotta go Rosie! _Au revoir!_ "

Harry quickly shut off the connection and sighed in relief. A minute later, the mirror began to buzz but he quickly buried it underneath his robes in his trunk, slamming the lid shut.

* * *

"You remember zat it ees one in the morning for me, _oui_?" Rose glared at her brother through the mirror, French accent thick. He winced.

"Sorry, but it was important."

"It always is." Rose threw herself onto the bed, propping the mirror on her pillow as she lay on her stomach. "Come on then- have you petrified somebody again?"

"Rose…" Harry complained.

"Sorry. Seriously, what is it?"

"Another boy from Hufflepuff and a ghost were petrified. And I may have accidently told the entire school I'm a parselmouth."

Rose stared at him for a long moment, before she dropped her head down. "Of course you did." Harry her say in a muffled voice. She looked back up at him, resting her chin on her hand. "How bad?"

"Well, the entire school thinks I'm the heir of Slytherin out to kill all muggleborns and I ended up being sent to Dumbledore, who knows I'm hiding something but is doing absolutely nothing to stop the rumours." Harry told her gloomily.

Rose sighed. "I am so glad I don't go to school." She muttered. "Alright. Have you at least reminded everyone that your mother was muggleborn? That your best friend is?"

"I'll try but I'm not sure it will help."

"What happened with the parselmouth? I thought you were going to hide it…?" Rose asked. Harry explained it to her, and she looked confused. "You can beat Uncle Jean in a dual on a good day- why would you need a club?" she questioned.

"It sounded like fun, and I thought there might be a different take I could learn." Harry shrugged.

"From Lockhart?"

"Well, I didn't know he was running it, did I?"

"Oh." Rose looked thoughtful. "Well, you could point out that not all parselmouths are evil- find some examples or just shut up about it and hope it will all blow over." she suggested.

"Great."

"What about Dumbledore?" Rose asked. "Does he know?"

"I don't think so. He asked if there was anything I'd like to tell him but I told him no, and he let me go. He knew I wasn't telling him something though."

"Well, there's not much you can do about that." She sighed. "When are you coming home?"

"The train leaves at the end of the month." Harry shifted uncomfortably, and Rose's eyes narrowed when she caught it.

"And you will be on it, won't you?" she said intently. Harry nodded furiously.

"'Course."

"Then what's that look on your face?"

"Nothing, nothing at all." Harry assured her. "I'll be home."

"You promise?"

Harry was suddenly struck by how young Rosalie looked at that moment, and realised he couldn't continue with his plan of lying to her and then staying at Hogwarts to interrogate Draco Malfoy. He forgot, sometimes, that she was only eleven. Then again, he was only twelve, he thought wryly. "I promise." He swore. "I will be home."

Rose smiled joyfully at him.

* * *

"What do you mean you're not staying?!" Hermione hissed furiously the night before the train was due to leave. "We've been planning this for weeks!"

"I know, but I can't not go home for Christmas!" Harry whispered back. She glared at him.

"I want to go home too, but I'm not because of the polyjuice! You're the one being called the heir of Slytherin!"

Harry ground his teeth together. "I've never asked you to stay behind Hermione! And I'm fully aware of what people are calling me- they're not exactly doing it quietly. But I _have_ to go home!"

"And what are we supposed to do while you're off gallivanting? The potion will be ready, and it won't keep until after you're back!" Hermione was furious, and attracting attention.

"Now now kiddies." Fred flopped down between them, wrapping his arms around their shoulders.

"What are we arguing about?" George asked from behind them.

"Nothing." Harry said hastily. Hermione scowled at him as he rose and smiled tightly, eager to escape upstairs to bed and away from the twins' curious looks. "Goodnight."


	11. Chapter 11

"Merry Christmas!" Harry grinned from the doorway of the kitchen, and Rosalie spun around with a squeal.

"You're home!" she flew across the room to hug him tightly, and as soon as she'd released him he was engulfed in one by Missy. "Why didn't you tell us you were arriving today?"

Harry laughed at her accusing tone. "I wanted to surprise you."

"Objective complete." She said dryly, while Missy clapped.

"Master Harry must sit and eat!" she exclaimed, pulling him to a chair and sitting him down. "Miss Rose too- Missy knows she hasn't eaten yet today!"

"Busted." Rose murmured, sliding into another seat. "How was your journey?"

"It was okay." Harry shrugged as Missy as she placed their plates on the table. "Thanks."

"Thank you Missy. No problems from Dumbledore?"

Harry shook his head. "No- I'm beginning to wonder whether he's just completely senile, selectively blind or just stupid. He can't honestly not realise!"

"Maybe he doesn't want to." Rose mused, twirling her fork.

"More likely." Harry grinned wryly. "When are we going to the Delacours?"

"Christmas Eve, until New Years for me. And you're going to the Longbottoms, aren't you?"

Harry nodded with a smirk. "We both are- you're invited too. Just for New Years, then back here for a few days before the express leaves."

"Do I have to?" asked Rose apprehensively.

Harry didn't look up, his tone firm. "Yes."

"Oh goody." She sighed, resting her head on her hand and poking unenthusiastically at her food.

Two weeks later and Harry was shivering slightly as he jogged through the snow, his feet thumping against the frozen ground. "Struggling to keep up, brother-dear?" Rose called to him over her shoulder, eyes dancing.

"You wish!" Harry put on a burst of speed to fall into step beside her, panting breaths visible from both of them. He had to admit though, running used an entirely different set of muscles from quidditch and this was more a struggle than it should have been. He would start jogging in the mornings back at Hogwarts, he decided when he noticed his sister wasn't breathing nearly as hard. This was a problem, especially as they'd been running at least four times a week for a fortnight.

Without their mother, neither was in the mood to celebrate Christmas and Minerva had been taking her turn in supervision at Hogwarts, leaving them alone with the Delacours. But Gabrielle was young enough to believe in Santa and they'd mustered up enough Christmas spirit to last the day with her. ignoring the sympathetic looks they'd received from their Aunt and Uncle, for whom they'd- jointly with Gabrielle and Fleur- bought a romantic week away together. Gabrielle had received several muggle books from them, which were perhaps the only children's books she hadn't yet devoured while they'd bought Fleur a beautiful necklace and earing set that Harry had been more than happy to let Rose pick out. Minerva had received a photo frame with a picture of the three of them in it from Rose, while Harry had bought her a scented candle set (Rose may have picked this out as well). Predictably, they both had received a range of books and sheet music from their relatives and Rose had given Harry a book series on multiple types of defence, while she had received new ballet and dance shoes from him.

Harry's reverie was broken when they crashed through the treeline, both feeling the magic from the wards as they sprinted across the last minute to the door. "Finally." Minerva looked up from where she sat at the kitchen table, raising an eyebrow at them. "Ten minutes longer than usual." She observed.

"Harry's gotten slower. Besides, have you ever tried running in the snow?" Rose pointed out, grabbing a glass of water as Harry slumped into a chair, breathing heavily.

"Not since I was very young."

"It's exhausting." Harry groaned, his voice muffled from where he was face down on the table. Rose raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're out of shape. Last year you spent most of school running around trying to get to your lessons on time. This year you walk everywhere." She said derisively.

"I play quidditch!"

"You _sit_ on a broom. Other than adrenaline from getting your head knocked in by a bludger, there isn't anything get your heart beating." Rose rolled her eyes, washing her glass up as she spoke. "How you're going to manage in dance this afternoon I have no idea."

"Dance?" Harry raised his head to look at her.

"You said you were coming with me to the academy so you could have one more session before you leave tomorrow? I already confirmed it with Madame DuBois…"

Harry winced, wishing he could just sleep- he didn't think he'd caught up from when he'd gotten about an hour after the Longbottoms' New Years party. "Oh yeah…" he sighed. "In that case, I'm going to go sit in a cold bath."

"Have fun." Rose grinned as he dragged himself upstairs.

"Rose?" her aunt said suddenly. "Do you think being more physically fit helps with duelling and lessons in general?"

"Well of course." The girl answered in surprise. "There are mental effects to physical exercise as well, not to mention the whole premise that it's simply easier to move if you're fitter. In a dual, there's a distinct advantage. Why do you think I've begun to beat Harry the majority of the time recently? It's not due a large increase in skill." Minerva looked thoughtful, and Rose tilted her head at her. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm wondering if we should introduce some sort of exercise program for the students." Her aunt explained. "What with the petrifications and you-know-who last-" Rose coughed pointedly. Minerva sighed. "Fine- with _Voldemort_ last year, I'm wondering whether it would benefit them."

"I should think it would. It would be fairly easy to implement as well- especially with the muggleborns and some of the half-bloods." Rose shrugged.

"What do you mean?"

"PE is compulsory in muggle schools. Those students would be perfectly used to it."

Her aunt looked baffled. "PE?"

"Physical Education. A sports class, effectively. Most schools rotate groups around during the year to different sports, depending on the seasons. Rounders and swimming and such in the summer, with indoor sports like badminton or gym in the winter."

Minerva blinked. "Oh." She bit her lip. "I wouldn't be able to get it past the governors before term starts, but maybe for the beginning of next year… Oh, no it would take longer than that to pass a new curriculum through…"

She looked thoughtful and Rose quickly summoned a piece of paper and began to write as fast as she could. "Here." She handed it to her aunt after a few minutes. "It's a list of sports you either don't need special equipment for, or are considered important in the muggle world, like swimming. I put an explanation next to them in case the names have changed since you were a child."

"Thank you _a leannan._ This will be very helpful. Now aren't you supposed to be getting ready for your class?"

"Oh- I was supposed to practice my piece..." she muttered, hopping to her feet and rushing away upstairs while her aunt just smiled and shook her head slightly, returning her attention to the paper before her.

* * *

Harry sighed as he rested his head against the window, yawning widely. "Hey Harry!" Neville greeted cheerfully as he entered the carriage followed by the Patil twins.

"Morning." Harry shot them a wave while only opening one eye. Padma smirked.

"Tired Harry?"

He nodded. "Just a little." He rubbed his eyes, shifting upright and blinking blearily at them. "How were your holidays?"

"Wonderful!" the twins chimed together.

"We had all of our relatives to visit." Parvati explained. "That's almost one hundred of us altogether."

"A hundred!" Neville exclaimed in amazement.

"There are a lot of us!" Padma shrugged. Harry laughed.

"And I thought the Weasleys had a lot."

Padma scoffed. "They've got nothing on us." Parvati grinned at him, then squealed when Lavender poked her head in. "Hi!"

Harry winced at the high pitch of the two as they spoke in amazingly fast paced voices. Padma sighed and was pulling a book from her bag when Dean and Seamus came in. As soon as they caught sight of Harry, they paused uncertainly. "For the live of Merlin!" he exclaimed. "I AM NOT THE HEIR OF SLYTHERIN!"

Everyone stared at him as he scowled angrily.

"My mother was muggleborn! My best friend is muggleborn! Merlin's beard, most of people I consider friends are half blood or muggleborn or muggles! And quite frankly, if I wanted to harm people who annoyed me don't you think I would have targeted Snape or Filch himself or Binns?!"

"Harry…" Padma said nervously but he continued as if he hadn't heard her.

"And as for being a parseltongue, I must have got it from somewhere and I don't see anyone accusing my parents or grandparents of being evil! So I can talk to snakes- big deal! There are loads of cultures where snakes are worshiped! Are considered Gods or healers or whatever!"

"Harry!" Padma exclaimed. He fell silent, looked at her in confusion.

"We believe you mate." Seamus said uncomfortably.

Harry blinked. "You do?"

"Of course we do." Neville rolled his eyes.

"Gryffindors stick together." Added Lavender.

"Hey!" protested Padma.

"And Ravenclaws." Lavender amended.

"Hey!" another protest came from the door and Harry looked up to see Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones standing there. "Hufflepuffs too!" Susan grinned. Harry smiled hesitantly, fiddling with his jumper.

"Thanks guys." He mumbled.

"Don't go getting all mushy, will you?" another voice said, and Harry grinned lopsidedly at Ernie.

"Wouldn't dream of it." he grinned, scooting up so everyone could sit down, although Padma had shifted to sit on him and Lavender sat on Parvati to make space for everyone.

Soon, they'd arrived at the castle and disembarked amongst the clatter and clamour of the students, rushing into the great hall where they separated to their tables and Harry quickly spotted Ron sitting with his siblings. Strangely, he seemed to have a black eye. "Hi!" he greeted, sliding in next to Fred. Neville joined him, and the others sat on the other side. "How was your Christmas?"

"Oh, very interesting." Smirked George while Ron just thumped his head on his desk and slid lower in his seat. Harry looked at him, mystified.

"Ronnie here decided to have an adventure over the holidays, didn't you?" Fred wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Didn't plan all that well, though, did you?" George asked. Percy frowned.

"It isn't funny! Ronald's in a lot of trouble!"

"Oh, stop it please…!" Ginny cried unhappily. Fred hugged her with one arm.

"We're only messing around, Gin." He said comfortingly. Harry blinked- he didn't think he'd ever seen the Weasleys be nice to each other before.

"I don't understand- what did you do Ron?" Neville questioned. The boy moaned, sliding down so far only the top of his head was visible.

"He thought it was a good idea to use polyjuice potion to sneak into the Slytherin common room." George clapped his shoulder while Harry's eyes grew wide.

"Did he?" he squeaked nervously.

"Why!?" Lavender asked in astonishment.

"Thought he could find the heir of Slytherin, didn't he?" Fred rolled his eyes.

Parvati looked at him admiringly. "Did you really Ron?"

"Only he got caught, didn't he?" scoffed Fred.

"Idiot forgot the potion ran out." George continued.

"And got caught by Snape!" they finished together.

The table fell silent, all staring at the mop of visible hair. "Snape?" whispered Lavender.

"And you're alive?" Seamus stared.

"Professor McGonagall was furious." Whispered Ginny shyly.

Dean nodded slowly. "I can imagine!"

"She shouted so loudly Professor Sprout heard her from the greenhouses and came to check what was wrong." Fred added.

"Ron has detention twice a week until the end of the year!" George shook his head sympathetically. Simultaneously, Parvati and Lavender's heads swivelled to look at the points at the end of the hall.

"How many did he lose?"

"A hundred." Ginny answered softly.

"And it was no less than he deserved." Percy said loftily.

"Wait, where's Hermione?" Parvati enquired.

"Hospital Wing." Fred replied. "Not sure why- Madame Pomphrey wouldn't let us visit."

"She wasn't attacked, was she?" Lavender cried. Everyone around immediately fell silent. Lavender looked around frantically. "Oh My God, Hermione Granger was attacked over Christmas!"

Whispers immediately began to circle the hall, until suddenly a Ravenclaw's voice rose above the others. "But Potter went home for Christmas!"

"That's right- he was on the train!"

Harry flushed, glancing up to the head table only to see several empty seats, most notably of Snape, his aunt and the headmaster. The remaining teachers shifted but they said nothing, allowing the whispers and rumours to circle unchecked for the entirety of dinner. Harry slipped from his seat as soon as desert had finished, glancing around to check no one was watching him too closely.

"Where are you going? It's almost curfew…" Dean asked.

"Hermione." He said in explanation, walking from the hall as quickly as he could without drawing attention and breaking into a run as soon as he was out of sight. He dashed up to the hospital wing as fast as he could, skidding to a stop outside. Madam Pomphrey wouldn't appreciate him bursting in, he knew.

Cautiously, he opened the door and glanced around. The room seemed empty, other than the occupants of the beds. "Hermione?" he probed warily, and there was movement from the middle of the room.

"Harry?"

"Hi!" Harry began to walk over.

"Don't come any closer!" Hermione cried shrilly. Harry stopped dead, tilting his head.

"What's wrong?" he asked in concern. There was a moment of silence.

"N-Nothing. Just… stay over there. Please."

"Hermione." Harry sighed, ignoring her and walking over. "What's wrong with you, why are you here? Everyone thinks you've been attacked!"

"I wasn't attacked." Hermione said miserably, looking up. Harry gasped.

"What happened!?"

"The polyjuice potion- it wasn't meant for animal transformations." She explained morosely. "I thought I had Millicent's hair; I didn't know she had a cat."

"Oh dear…" Harry pressed his lips together, sitting on the edge of her bed. "Are you ok?"

She nodded unhappily. "The teachers know it was something to do with Ron, but they can't prove it. Madam Pomphrey never asks too many questions, but you should have seen the way Professor McGonagall looked at me…"

"Oh, I can imagine." Harry said wryly and Hermione let out a small smile.

"I suppose you can." She agreed.

" _Mister Potter_!" Madam Pomphrey entered the room looking furious. " _What_ are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I um… I was wondering if I could have a headache potion ma'am?" Harry said quickly. He felt guilty when her expression immediately softened.

"Of course. Wait one moment." She vanished, leaving Harry to turn to Hermione.

"I'll visit tomorrow." He promised. The matron returned, handing a potion to him.

"All of it." she instructed and he obediently downed it. "Now straight to bed- come back to me first thing if it hasn't disappeared by morning. If it gets worse, have a dorm mate fetch your head of house so she can send for me."

"Yes ma'am. Goodnight. Night Hermione." He called over his shoulder as he left, feeling uncharacteristically exhausted.

And rather glad he'd gone home for Christmas.


	12. Chapter 12

"I need your help!" Harry said to Rose as soon as she'd picked up her mirror, and she blinked in surprise.

"Good evening to you too, brother-dear."

"Sorry Rosie." He apologised. "But I do need your help."

"What have you done now?" she sighed.

"I haven't done anything!" he protested. "We have to pick our subjects for next year and I don't know what to do!"

"Is that it?" Rose visibly relaxed, her tone exasperated but Harry looked indignant.

"What do you mean is that it?! This could dictate the rest of my life!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Good grief Harry. It's not that difficult."

"Easy for you to say." He muttered.

"Do you want to study divination, bearing in mind you haven't got a seer's bone in your body?" she continued.

"No…?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling?" when she continued to look at him he bit his lip. "Telling." He said more firmly.

"Excellent." She said dryly. "Now, do you like arithmancy?"

"Yes."

"Then that is a possibility. Do you like creatures?"

Harry thought for a moment. "I… I think so?"

"That's a maybe then." Rose sounded bored. "Do you like runes?"

"… I have no idea."

She sighed again. "Did you bother to do _any_ research?"

"Why would I have done research?" he questioned, sounding genuinely confused. She sighed again.

"Heavens above." She muttered. "Merlin give me strength. Harry- you need to talk to people. People who are already doing the subjects. Find out about them, what it entails, how the exams are, who teaches them. Then decide- and try to help poor Neville." She added as an afterthought. "I imagine he's rather in a pickle with all of his relatives."

"Yeah, you could say that." Harry agreed, thinking of the boy downstairs.

"And failing all of that, talk to your teachers. They're there to support you." She reminded him. He nodded.

"Yes ma'am." He muttered sarcastically.

"Hey, you wanted help!" she frowned at him.

"I know, I'm sorry." He apologised. "I just… I really wish mum were around."

"So do I." she agreed quietly, and when he smiled at her she smiled back tiredly. "How is everything otherwise?"

Harry shrugged. "The sun is shining, spring is here, there have been no more attacks and people no longer think I'm the heir of Slytherin!"

"How kind of them." Rose muttered sarcastically. He frowned at her.

"Oh, stop it." he scolded. "You can't hold a grudge against people you've never even met!"

"Why can't I?" she retorted.

"Because… you just can't!" Harry spluttered. Rose simply crossed her arms.

"Yes I can." She mumbled. Then yawned, and Harry looked horrified.

"Rose! It's midnight where you are and you have to be up at six! Why didn't you remind me?"

She arched an eyebrow. "It's never worried you before." She pointed out. "Although now it does, I'm going to bed."

"Yeah… I'm sorry. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Harry."

Then Harry remembered something else. "Oh, wait!" Rose looked at him in exasperation. "I had an idea about how to help mum!"

"What do you mean?"

"I thought of a way we can help her!"

Rose sighed. "Harry, how are we supposed to help her? The doctors say it's impossible, that there's no known cure."

"Exactly!" Harry cried but she just looked nonplussed. "No _known_ cure!" he emphasised.

"You want to… attempt to create a cure?" Rosalie questioned slowly.

"Not me! Someone else!"

"Harry I am far too tired to solve puzzles at the moment." She said, irritation creeping into her voice.

"Professor Snape." Harry said in explanation. She looked at him, confusion clear before he explained. "I'll ask Snape if he can research a cure, or knows someone who can."

"You want to ask a teacher who willingly admits to hating you, your father and your house for help in something that could result in the death of our mother?" Rose questioned. "Are you insane?"

"No- Snape loves potions, everyone says so. He's a potions master! Professionally, mum's case has to hold interest for him. Or someone else." Harry clarified. Rose didn't look convinced, but nodded slowly.

"Very well." She agreed uncertainly. Harry smiled.

"Alright then. Goodnight for real this time."

"Goodnight."

* * *

Harry swallowed thickly as he rocked back and forth on his toes outside of Snape's office, gathering up the courage to knock. Every time he raised his fist he would freeze, and lower it again. "Don't be ridiculous Harry." He muttered furiously to himself. "You're being a baby."

And he knocked four times in quick succession.

Then immediately regretted it, stepping back several paces and wondering if he had enough time to run. Before he could do more than think about it, Snape called out in his usual supercilious tone.

"Enter."

Harry gulped, and with a trembling hand reached towards the door, pushing it open and stepping cautiously inside. "Potter?" came the incredulous question from in front of him.

"Good evening sir." He said quietly. "My apologies for disturbing you."

Snape stared at him. "What. Do. You. Want?"

"Help." Harry took a deep breath.

Snape stared. " _What?_ "

"Professor, I understand you don't like me. But I also understand that that's because of my father, not because of me. For the record, I think what he and his friends did to you during school was despicable but I also think that hating me for their actions is as well." Harry told him calmly, pretending not to see the way a vein began to bulge in his forehead. "And I apologise on their behalf."

"You…? How dare you come in here and-!" Snape started but to his shock Harry cut him off.

"Because I am not my father sir. I understand I may look like him, may even behave a little like him sometimes but we are separate people and quite frankly if my mother had been alive to see that I acted anything like he did, I think her heart might have broken."

Harry wasn't sure how exactly, but something in Snape's expression suggested this might have hit a nerve. "Not to mention the fact my adoptive family would have me doing extra chores until I was thirty." He added dryly. "Professor, I'm here to ask if you conduct research for new cures."

"New cures?" Snape asked slowly, seemingly bewildered by the abrupt change in topic. Harry nodded.

"Yes sir."

"What kind of new cures?"

"For a curse or disease that nobody can identify."

Snape ground his teeth. "Mr Potter, you have a minute to explain before I throw you out of this office and have you in every detention with Mr Weasley!"

"My adoptive mother was found lying on the floor of her office, with no visible wounds or symptoms other than the fact that her body seems to be shutting down, process by process." Harry explained hurriedly.

"When?" Snape's eyes narrowed.

"During the summer sir." Harry replied. "The doctors have no clue what's wrong with her- every time they think they find a cure, whatever is making her sick seems to react and undoes the little that's been healed. It's like a constant fight between them."

"Is she conscious?" questioned the professor thoughtfully, apparently forgetting who he was talking to.

"No sir. She hasn't ever woken."

"And her vital signs?"

"They fluctuate depending on when the doctors last administered a treatment sir."

"Peculiar." Snape murmured. Then snapped back into the present, fixing his eyes on Harry who met his gaze without backing down, even as his heart began to hammer.

"Will you try to help, sir? Or recommend someone who can? Please Sir, the doctors have all but given up and I don't know what else to do!" his tone became pleading, and Snape stared at him for a long minute.

"I will examine her. If I think I can help, I will expect your father to pay for ingredients and facilities." He said coolly. Harry looked confused.

"Well, of course we'll pay sir, but my father?"

"Your adoptive father." Snape snapped impatiently.

"I don't have one sir." Harry looked baffled, while Snape just frowned at him.

"You have a mother, you're telling me she adopted you by herself?"

"Yes sir. I have an uncle, two aunts and two cousins but other than that it's just us and my sister." Harry explained.

"What is your mother's name, Potter?" Snape probed sharply.

"Vance, sir. Emmeline Vance."

"Emmeline Vance…" he murmured. "I wondered what had happened to her… Is she at St Mungo's?"

"No Professor. We live in France. She's at _L'hôpital de la magie du Paris._ She hates St Mungo's." Harry bit his lip. "Professor, nobody else knows that. As far as the headmaster or anyone else is concerned, I'm still living with my awful muggle relatives. Please don't tell?"

Snape sneered at him. "Keeping secrets Potter?"

"Yes sir. If it means no one gets into trouble because they were trying to help me, absolutely." Harry answered quietly. Snape looked contemplatively at him.

"I will keep your secret, Potter, provided it does not benefit me to do otherwise."

"Thank you sir."

"I will visit your mother at the end of term. I will not have the time until then." Snape turned his back on him.

"Thank you sir. Really."

Harry slipped out of the room before he could change his mind, closing the door gently behind him before he broke into a grin, punching the air in jubilation and rushing back to Gryffindor tower to tell Rose the news.

* * *

Harry was lying on his bed, curtains drawn tightly closed around him and a silencing charm cast as strongly as he could. It took a few minutes for Rose to answer her mirror, and when she did she appeared sweaty and out of breath.

"Sorry! I was downstairs practicing!" she threw herself into a seat, then looked at Harry properly and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Hermione…" Harry choked out. Rose looked confused for a moment, then realisation swept over her.

"Oh no… I'm so sorry Harry."

"I heard the voice again. On the way to quidditch. It wanted to kill, then Hermione went running off to the library and the next thing I know Aunt Minerva stopped the match and showed me and Ron Hermione." He explained, tone dull as he explained.

"Did she say anything?"

Harry stared at her. "She's petrified."

"Not Hermione! Aunt Min." Rose groaned.

"Oh." Harry looked sheepish. "No. She's busy trying to stop the school from closing."

"Is that possible?"

"I don't know. I don't think she's thinks it is." Harry sighed. Then looked up as he heard footsteps come racing into the room.

"Harry! Harry, are you in there?"

Harry shoved the mirror under his pillow just in time as Ron wrenched open the curtains. "Hey! What if I'd been changing?!"

"Sorry." Ron shrugged. "But they're taking Hagrid away!"

"What!" Harry scrambled over to the window and Rose could hear muffled exclamations, before everything went silent following some loud thudding. She sighed, breaking the connection between the mirrors and placing hers down onto the desk, her gaze drifting towards the picture that sat on it of her and her mother. She reached for it, fingers dancing over the glass.

"I wish you were here."


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying it :-)**

 **But to the guest reviewer 'L', may I suggest you get a dictionary and look up 'bashing'? Because I can count on one hand the number of times James is mentioned, and I am in no way derogatory towards him. In fact, I greatly admire him as a character. And if your sole complaint is that I had two children go to an expert- however unpleasant a person he is- for help, then my advice to you is grow up.**

 **To everyone else- thank you! Especially Arnold DeVillena, who I think may have reviewed every chapter so far!** **! X**

Rose was sat in the living room, staring into space while her teeth worried her lip. It had been days since Harry had picked up the mirror and every letter she sent to her Aunt wasn't replied to. She was worried sick, and short of contacting Neville she had no way of knowing what was happening at Hogwarts.

Missy popped into the room and Rosalie looked at her hopefully. "I is sorry Miss Rose." The elf's ears drooped. "There is being no news."

Rose slumped back into her seat. "That's okay Missy."

The house elf twiddled her hands. "It has been over a week since Master Harry called Miss Rose, or Mistress Minnie."

"I'm aware." Rose chewed her lip and Missy frowned at her, reaching out to tap her mouth.

"Not good for your lips." She scolded and the girl obediently stopped. "Missy can try to contact Hogwarts house elves?"

"Not at the moment, thanks. If I haven't heard anything by the weekend, I'll owl Neville." Rose pressed her lips together, shooting to her feet to pace up and down. No sooner than she had, an owl came shooting through the window and tumbled onto the sofa, hooting weakly.

"What on earth?" Rose hurried forward, picking it up gently. She untied the letter, placing it aside without looking at it as she cradled the little owl. "Missy!"

The house elf was already at her side, a towel in her arms as she gently took the little bird. "Missy will care for the owly. Miss Rose must read what Mistress Minnie has written."

"Mistress Minnie…?" Rose looked to the letter and immediately recognised her aunt's writing. She breathed a sigh of relief, quickly tearing into it.

 _Rosalie,_

 _My apologies for not having written sooner- events grew complicated here at Hogwarts. I'll allow Harry to explain entirely, but the short version of them is that Ginny Weasley (the younger sister of Harry's friend Ron?) was taken by the monster into the chamber. Harry and Mr Weasley went after her, which ended in Harry singlehandedly battling a basilisk, being poisoned and having to be saved by the tears of a phoenix which he called to him by arguing that Hogwarts is a good school. No, I don't understand it, I'm hoping Harry does._

 _Harry is fine, he saved the girl to the eternal gratitude of her parents and is surprisingly uninjured. Hogwarts is remaining open, and won't be finishing until the end of term. Harry will be arriving home then- I'm afraid I don't know when I will be able to return, things are still rather chaotic but I will be there as soon as I can._

 _See you soon,_

 _Aunt Minerva._

"Miss Rose?" Missy questioned tentatively from the doorway. Rose smiled weakly at her.

"Just Harry getting into trouble again. Honestly, I believe he's worse now than he was when we were young!" Rose folded away the letter, smiling slightly. Missy looked slightly dubious but nodded, disappearing with a pop and leaving Rose to rest her head in her hands, scrubbing her face with them as she straightened again. "He better be well by the time he gets home, because I may just kill him myself." She muttered. She was a little irritated that nobody had thought to contact her sooner, but there was nothing to be done now- if she'd wanted to know straight away, she should have chosen to attend the school with Harry, she reflected with a sigh. She tidied away her things and was about to sit down to read, but was stopped by Missy who ordered her to bed. She went obediently, falling asleep in an instant.

Time passed quickly after that- she received short letters from Harry updating her on various things and promising to talk more when he arrived home and several more from her Aunt, who instructed her not to pry too deeply until Harry was ready to talk. She did as asked, keeping her replies short and cheery and to be honest was kept busy enough by her classes and own school work, to the point that she was utterly surprised to arrive home one evening to find her aunt and brother laughing in the kitchen.

"You're home." She embraced them both warmly, confusion marring her features as she glanced at the magically updating calendar on the wall. In bold letters, it clearly stated 'end of Hogwarts term'.

"You alright?" Harry grinned. She nodded.

"I've been working in events, not in dates." She explained. "I thought we were still at the beginning of June."

"Only a month out." Minerva said dryly. "Why are you home so late anyway? We were expecting you hours ago."

"Extra practices at the academy- we've got our grand showcase performance in a few weeks so Madame DuBois is scheduling them anytime she can. I think I'm at the studio more than I'm at home!" she laughed. Minerva rolled her eyes, tutting.

"You're a child- there's far too much pressure on you." She muttered as she began to warm up the plates Missy had left for them.

"A child? Auntie, I just spent an entire school year living alone with a house elf." Rose reminded her. "I'm quite capable of dancing a few extra hours each week!"

"Best not remind me of that dear- I'm still not entirely happy about it." Her aunt handed her and Harry their dinners and sat down herself.

"Auntie, I managed well enough didn't I?" sighed Rosalie. "And besides, having Missy around is often like having a miniature version of mum. They're scarily similar sometimes."

"Can we not do this tonight?" Harry interrupted. "Let's just enjoy all being home."

Rosalie and Minerva glanced at each other, before nodding and murmuring apologies. They finished the meal, inane chatter passing between them before their Aunt sent them to bed, citing a long day for both of them. Harry was changed and tucked up when a knock sounded on his door and he was unsurprised to see Rose peek around, clad in pyjamas. "Room for a little one?" she smiled and he nodded, shifting so that she could curl up next to him. He grinned, reminded of the times they'd done this as children. "Harry? What happened?" she asked.

He'd been expecting this question for a while now and launched straight into his story. "When Hagrid was taken away and Dumbledore asked to leave, even the portraits and ghosts were talking. Dean overheard some of them talking about how there hadn't been any evidence to convict Hagrid fifty years ago, and that the only reason he'd been expelled was because 'that poor girl had died'. Ron remembered Myrtle, from the bathroom but when we went to talk to her Aunt Min spotted us, so we lied and told her we were trying to visit Hermione instead."

"And you got away with it?" Rose exclaimed in a whisper. Harry shrugged.

"I think she was already upset so didn't spot me lying. That, or she decided she just didn't want to know." He grinned slightly. "Anyway, then we of course had to go and actually visit Hermione."

Rose frowned at the unhappy look on his face. "Why was that a problem?"

"It reminded me of mum." He explained. "Anyway, I realised on the way back that I wasn't hearing a voice- I was hearing parselmouth and that presumably the monster was some sort of snake. We went to tell Aunt Min, but she as really busy so we went to Lockhart."

"WHY?" Rose winced when she realised how loud she'd been and they both lay in silence, hoping they hadn't been heard. When there was no movement for several minutes, Harry continued.

"Because he'd been put in charge of it, and at that point we knew he exaggerated but we didn't know he'd just made everything up! So we went to him and found him packing, by which point the other teachers couldn't be contacted because they were all in a meeting. Ron and I had forced him to come with us after he tried to obliviate us as well, and we spoke to Myrtle who knew where the entrance of the chambers was."

"And you of course decided to go down there."

Harry had the decency to look sheepish. "Well, yeah. We needed to stop the monster!"

"I'm aware."

"So we went down there, Lockhart tried to Obliviate us again only he used Ron's wand, which got damaged during his fight with Malfoy when his polyjuice wore off. The spell backfired and hit him, and caused a rockfall which meant I was trapped on the other side. When I got there, I found Ginny and a boy called Tom Riddle, who apparently is who Voldemort was before he changed his name. He left his teenaged self in a diary which was leeching off of Ginny after she'd been writing in it- he'd been causing the attacks through possessing her."

"Poor girl." Murmured Rose sympathetically. "But when did the basilisk come in?"

"Well, Tom still wasn't fully corporeal so couldn't cast spells at me and mine went straight through him, so he tried to get Ginny to attack me. I knocked her out fairly easily so he called the snake to attack me instead. He started off on how Hogwarts had really fallen from grace if it couldn't even manage to stop a giant basilisk roaming the walls. I defended it, and the next thing I know Fawkes is there. That's the Phoenix." He added when she looked confused. "It all gets a bit fuzzy here, but I know I was poisoned and Tom was gloating, but I killed the basilisk before I collapsed and stabbed the diary with one of the fangs and then Fawkes cried on me."

"Phoenix tears can heal." Rose remembered. Harry nodded.

"Ginny woke up and we backtracked to Ron and Lockhart, then Fawkes flew us out right up to Dumbledore's office! I think we must have made quite a sight, because Aunt Min was white as a sheet." Harry remembered. Rose laughed lightly.

"What did she do?"

"Hugged the life out of me." Harry answered dryly. "Thankfully, I don't think anyone took too much notice- they were preoccupied with Ginny and Lockhart caused a few reactions. Anyway, Dumbledore had me explain everything to him, and then Malfoy Senior turned up all pompous. Turns out, Dobby was his and I managed to free him by tricking Malfoy when I gave him the diary with a sock, asking him if he'd like a memento of his old master- he wasn't particularly pleased! Then Aunt Min came back and yelled at Dumbledore for keeping me and not sending me to the hospital wing, which was quite amusing."

"He'll be watching you more closely now." Rose mused. "Even more so than before…"

"Yep." Harry agreed. "Next year could be interesting."

They fell silent, before Harry remembered something else he had been planning on telling her. "You're never going to guess what Ron did!"

"What?"

"Remember how I said he'd been acting strangely? Unexplained bruises, his wand broken?"

She nodded sleepily. "You thought his brothers were pranking him."

"They weren't." he grinned. "Hermione and I went to find him a couple of days ago and found him throwing himself around an empty classroom, rolling around the floor and yelling."

"Why?" she looked confused.

"He was trying to teach himself to duel." Harry snorted. Rose blinked.

"Is this some sort of English duelling I have not heard of?" she enquired. He shook his head.

"I told him what happened last year with Quirrell, and he saw me training a few times and wanted to do it himself. I told him that at the rate he was going, the only thing he was going to do was give himself a concussion. I offered to teach him properly but he declined."

"Why?"

"Dunno. Think he was embarrassed." He yawned. "Explains the bruises and disappearances though."

They both jumped when a sudden voice interrupted them. "If you two don't go to sleep right now, I'm going to spell you to sleep!" Minerva threatened in shout from her room. They giggled, hands over their mouths but didn't speak again.

* * *

Harry waited outside of the _Les Deux Baguettes Magique_ in the morning sun, swinging his legs as he basked in the warmth, so different from the usually cool mornings of Scotland. He wasn't so distracted that he didn't see the figure dressed entirely in black emerge from the pub, however.

"Professor!" he caught the man's attention, jumping from the wall and crossing to him.

"Potter." Snape sneered.

"Thank you for coming Sir." Harry said politely. "The next floo connection is this way."

They walked in silence up _Le Boulevard_ , the early hour meaning only a scant few people were around. "Has there been any change in your mother's condition, Potter?" Snape asked suddenly.

"She's deteriorated since we last spoke- the healers are reluctant to give her more treatment until they absolutely have to." Harry explained as they drew up to the fireplace. "There's a direct connection from here- do you know the address?"

"I'm not an imbecile, Potter!"

Harry sighed. "Okay. _L'hôpital de la magie du Paris_!"

He whizzed past the grates, stumbling out but thankfully staying upright. Minutes later, Snape appeared as well and Harry led him up to the ward and to his mother's room, almost colliding with a nurse coming out of it.

"Mr Vance!" she smiled. "My apologies. Your sister-"

"I know." Harry smiled. "But thank you."

She inclined her head, moving away to allow him to enter. He smiled when he saw Rose sitting next to the bed with her head resting on it, fast asleep. He touched her shoulder gently.

"Rosie? Rosie wake up."

She stirred, blinking in confusion. "Harry?"

"Morning sleeping beauty!" he teased. She frowned.

"Morning? What time is it?"

"Just after seven. You've been here all night, little sister." He smiled. She rubbed her eyes.

"Oh. Sorry."

"No matter- Missy knew where you were." He shrugged. "Rosie, this is Professor Snape. Sir, my sister Rosalie."

Rose stood, smiling politely. "Hello sir."

"I believe it may be better for the two of you to leave while I examine your mother. I need quiet." He ordered without preamble.

"Yes Sir. We'll be in the canteen downstairs." Harry passed Rose her cardigan and they wandered to the lifts.

"He acted more civilly than I was expecting." She commented.

"I think he may be beginning to realise I'm not as much like my father as he thought. Not that it excuses his behaviour." He replied. They each got breakfast and sat down to eat, beginning to study when they finished and quickly got bored waiting. Heads bent over books, neither looked up until a shadow fell over them and Snape stood there.

"Your healers were right about this being something new." He told them brusquely. It took a moment for them to process and a quick glance at the clock showed Rose that several hours had passed.

"Won't you sit, professor?" she invited and he blinked in surprise.

"Thank you." He said grudgingly as he did so. "As I was saying, this is something new."

"Is a cure possible?" Harry asked eagerly.

"I believe so. It may take some time…"

"But you're willing to do it?"

"Yes. Not for free though." He added warningly.

"Of course not. We'll pay." Harry promised instantly.

"An hourly fee of three galleons in addition to the costs of equipment, ingredients and premises." Rose agreed. "But we expect to see proof that you spent those hours on this cure, and receipts for anything else."

Irritation flashed over the professor's face. "You impertinent brat."

"Thank you."

Harry suppressed a smile at the fury that crossed his teacher's face. "Professor, even if we didn't request it, our account manager would." He pointed out.

"Five galleons an hour." The man snapped.

"Three and nine sickles." Rose countered.

"Four and nine."

"Three and twelve."

"Four."

"Four." She granted with a nod, reaching into her bag and withdrawing a magical contract. She signed it, passing it to Harry and then to Snape. It flashed, rolling itself up and vanishing.

Then Snape frowned. "How did you know what terms I would agree to?"

Rosalie smiled angelically, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. "How did I indeed?" She rose, nudging Harry gently. "We're due at the gym. It was nice to meet you, professor. _Au revoir._ "

Harry followed, grinning at the slightly stunned look on Snape's face. "I'll have our account manager arrange the funds sir. _Au revoir._ "

He left and the next few weeks passed in a haze of study, burning muscles and music, with long hours spent lounging outside in the sun. Visits to the Delacours were frequent, as were Harry's trips to England to see his friends there, meeting them in London and such. On the few days when none of them had anywhere else to be, Harry, Rose and Minerva would take trips to the coast or into other tourist destinations, and so Harry was shocked when his sister burst into his room one morning and handed him a present with a bright 'happy birthday'. "It's the end of July?" he questioned woozily.

"Well yes. I wouldn't have bought you a present otherwise." She smirked. "Aunt Min's downstairs waiting for you to open the others, and we have to be at _l'academie_ by eleven."

"What for?"

"Extra practice. Which is no fun on your birthday, I know." She shrugged apologetically. "Although, I have exams every year on my birthday so you can't complain too much."

"Why do I go there?" Harry muttered as he finally unwrapped the gift, raising an eyebrow when he found the bracelet inside. "Um…"

"It's charmed, you idiot." Rose sighed. "It has a variety of protection spells which are linked to you, so it can't be stolen or taken. It won't deflect the stronger hexes and curses, but it should lessen the minor ones." She said apologetically. Harry leant over to kiss her cheek.

"It's brilliant, thank you. Now get out so I can get dressed."

She laughed, sliding from the bed and skipping lightly away. Harry slid the bracelet on and quickly tugged on his jeans and a shirt before hurrying downstairs, greeting Missy and his aunt cheerfully and tucking into pancakes. Before long, Rose was rushing him to get ready for practice and tugging him along as they walked, urging him to go faster.

"What is your problem today?" he questioned with a laugh.

"I don't want to be late!"

"Well, we haven't been yet!"

His question was answered when they walked into the studio and were greeted with a loud cheer. Harry stared around in shock, gaze fixing on the banner which read 'Happy Birthday Twinkle-Toes!' in bright red letters. He sighed, but couldn't stop smiling happily as Rose grinned at him.

"Happy birthday brother-dear." She shrugged innocently. Harry just shook his head at her in amusement before being drawn into the crowd to enjoy the party.

* * *

Several days later, Harry was sat with Rose in the kitchen eating breakfast when he heard the lock on the front door click. Instinctively he reached for his wand, but before he could even pick it up he heard his aunts voice call out. "In the kitchen!" He answered, gulping down his last bite of toast. She appeared in the doorway, face pinched and her usually neat hair with strands falling down her face.

"Auntie?" Questioned Rose.

"Dumbledore knows you aren't with the Dursleys." Minerva said shortly, falling into a seat next to them. Harry paled.

"How?" He exclaimed.

"You don't get the Prophet, do you?" Minerva checked. They shook their heads.

" _Maman_ said they're inbred idiots who wouldn't know the news if it paraded naked in front of them with a troll on a leash and a dragon up the backside." Harry snickered. Minerva smiled slightly.

"Usually true." She agreed. "But it means you won't have heard that Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban."

"Sirius who?" Asked Rose interestedly. Minerva blinked.

"Your mother never told you? Either of you?" She glanced between them, Harry shook his head.

"Who is he?"

Minerva bit her lip. "He... He's a death eater. Harry, he's the man who betrayed your parents." She told him gently.

"What?"

"He was their friend and when they went into hiding became their secret keeper but he betrayed them to Voldemort. It's how he found you that Halloween. After he escaped, he killed another friend named Peter Pettigrew along with thirteen muggles. He was sentenced to life in Azkaban for his crimes." Minerva elaborated softly. Harry swallowed thickly.

"Excuse me." He pushed up from the table, stalking way outside.

"Is he okay?" Rose asked sadly. Her aunt shook her head.

"Give him time." She instructed, tiredness creeping into her voice. "And begin to think of a back up plan if we can't do damage control with Dumbledore."

"How did he find out?"

"When Sirius Black escaped it was suspected he would go after Harry, so aurors were sent to check on his wellbeing. Of course, they found no sign of him and questioned Vernon and Petunia who of course told them they hadn't seen him since he was six."

"Will they search for him?"

"Oh, they've already started. Quietly of course, so as not to cause alarm. I've been with them all night, couldn't get away." She rubbed her eyes as she spoke, but jolted at the sound of another voice behind her.

"They won't think to look in France. They have no reason to." Harry pointed out quietly from the doorway to the garden.

"At the moment." Minerva agreed. "But how long do you think it will be until someone realises you turn up each year with half your textbooks in French?"

" _Merde_." Harry muttered, not missing the frown Minerva shot his way. "I never even thought of that."

"Neither did I until someone mentioned covering Diagon Alley to find you when you buy your books." She pressed her fingers to her eyes tiredly.

"Go get some sleep auntie." Rose told her comfortingly. "You look exhausted."

Minerva glanced at them, then gave a nod. "Don't leave the house." She told them as she stood.

"We won't." Harry promised.

She vanished from view, leaving Rose and Harry to exchange worried looks. "Sirius Black?" questioned Rose. Harry shrugged.

"Why hasn't anybody mentioned him before?" he wondered.

Rose frowned. "I don't know. We need to ask someone…"

"Who would possibly know about this?" Harry said helplessly. "Auntie won't tell us…"

They lapsed into silence.

"What about Neville's grandmother?" Rose asked suddenly. Harry blinked.

"I don't know…" he mused. "We could try."

Rosalie glanced at the clock. "Aunt Min won't wake up for hours yet…"

"Rosie…" said Harry in a warning tone.

"We could be there and back before she knew anything about it!" she insisted. Harry looked uncertain. "Come on! Don't you want to know?"

"Yes." He admitted, biting his lip. He sighed. "You're a terrible influence, you know that. This is probably a really bad idea."

"Probably." She agreed, handing him his jacket. "But we're going to do it anyway."

"Yeah."


	14. Chapter 14

Harry quickly shoved his feet into his shoes and joined his sister who was standing by the door in jean shorts and a white blouse, rocking uneasily on her toes. As quietly as they could, they snuck out of the front door and closed it gently behind them. But when they turned, Rose yelped at the sight of the tiny figure stood in front of them.

Missy had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot expectantly. They gulped, exchanging an apprehensive look. "Missy…" Rosalie began.

"It's not what it looks like…" Harry continued and Missy cut them off.

"So yous not be sneaking out against Mistress Minnie's orders?"

"No!" They exclaimed, looking at each other.

"Well…" hesitated Rose.

"Yes." Harry confessed. "But it's for a very good reason!"

"Oh?" Missy looked at them expectantly.

"It's about Sirius Black." Rose told her. Missy frowned.

"Bad wizard!"

"Yes." Harry agreed, coming to kneel in front of her. "But Missy, I don't know anything about him! I don't know why he betrayed my parents, or why they trusted him or anything!"

Missy looked unsure. "You is not supposed to be leaving."

"Missy, Harry has to know." Rose pleaded. "And you know that we're perfectly capable of looking after each other- I do not believe monsieur Black will be expecting us to have training, or to be expecting me at all. There's no reason why he would be aware of my existence."

There was a long pause. "You will be back by dinnertime." Missy ordered fiercely. They nodded furiously.

"Thank you Missy!" Harry grinned, throwing his arms around her.

"Thank you." Rose added, and they took off across the garden into the street, heading toward the floo point on the other side of the park quickly travelling through the various connections to The Unicorn's Tale. "You can't be seen. Half the ministry is looking for you, remember?" Rose reminded him as they wove through the tables.

Harry flipped the hood of his jacket up to obscure his face. "I don't think anyone will be expecting me to walk into The Leaky Cauldron." He pointed out as they stumbled into the sunlight, squinting as it seared their eyes.

"Let's hope not." They sprinted through the streets of muggle London, cutting through alleys and backstreets to reach The Leaky Cauldron and slipping inside. "Busy." Rose noted as they crossed to the floo.

"It's summer- all of Hogwarts will be getting their school supplies."

Rose went to buy some drinks to pay for their use of the floo while Harry knelt in front of it to call Neville. He poked his head in, seeing the empty room and calling out questioningly. A house elf appeared, squeaking in alarm and popping away again.

"Okay…" Harry said slowly, but before he could wonder what to do next Neville appeared.

"Harry!" he cried in relief. "I've been trying to reach you all day, but I didn't know your floo address! I sent an owl off a few hours ago!"

"Sorry Nev. It's a bit complicated." Harry apologised. "Can Rosie and I come through?"

"Yes, yes of course!"

Harry withdrew his head and glanced at Rose, who was now stood behind him. "Let's go." He said, grabbing a handful of powder. "Longbottom Manor!"

He fell through the other end, landing heavily on his knees. "Ouch."

Neville sniggered. "You okay?"

"Just dandy." Harry groaned as he stood up and brushed himself off, scowling at Rose when she stepped gracefully through the grate.

"Hello Neville." She greeted warmly, hugging the boy tightly.

"Hey Rose." He smiled. "But don't you two know what's been going on?"

They exchanged a look. "We think we know some of it. We wanted to talk to your grandmother about the rest of it." Harry asked hopefully.

"She's in the garden. This way." They followed him out, and Harry remembered what Neville had said over the floo.

"Nev? What did you mean, you'd been trying to contact me?" he enquired.

"Well, Dumbledore and an auror showed up last night. Said that you'd gone missing, they were trying to find you and asked if I knew where you were or how to contact you." Neville explained.

"Did you tell him?" asked Rosalie in alarm. Neville frowned at her.

"Of course not."

Rose looked abashed. "Sorry."

"Did they say anything else?" Harry questioned as they stepped into the garden.

"Well, they didn't believe me. Dumbledore started off on how you were in great danger, how you needed protection and that only he could provide it." Neville snorted. "Then this auror- I don't know his name- spoke up and started threatening me with how lying to the ministry is a criminal offence and how I would be in a lot of trouble. Gran stepped in at that point, and told them in no uncertain terms to get out and not come back."

"They don't know about the adoption yet." Rose surmised. "That or Dumbledore thinks he can get around multiple international laws."

They came across a small table and chairs, at which Neville's grandmother sat with a book in her hand. "Gran!" he called. "We have visitors."

She looked up. "Harry, Rosalie. This is a surprise."

Neither missed the disapproval in her tone. "We're very sorry to arrive unannounced, Madam Longbottom." Rose stepped forward, her own tone gentle and apologetic. "We had some questions we believe you might be able to answer and we didn't have a lot of time."

She inclined her head, inviting them to sit down. "Neville, did you offer them refreshments?" she asked sharply. He winced.

"No, sorry Gran."

She sighed loudly. "Well, go and fetch some lemonade for everyone!" she turned to Harry. "You, young man, have caused quite a stir with Dumbledore."

Rosalie stood and followed Neville. "I'll help." He smiled gratefully at her.

"I heard. I'm very sorry, Madam…" they heard Harry say but he was cut off.

"Apologise when you've done something wrong, boy. Now what was it you wanted to ask me?"

The sound of their voices drifted around Neville and Rosalie but they were soon too far away to hear the words. "You're worried about Harry, aren't you?"

Rose smiled slightly. "I'm always worried about Harry." She slid her arm through his, linking them. "He has a remarkable tendency to get himself into trouble."

"That's an understatement." He let out a laugh.

"It's easier, when he's home." She said softly. "I know where he is and what he's doing. But during the year, he's on an island hundreds of miles away and I just have to sit there and hope he's okay."

"I can't imagine." Neville admitted. "I mean, I have my parents but I know they're always safe."

"That's what frustrates me the most though. He's supposed to be safe at school!"

They entered the kitchen and Neville went into the pantry to fetch the jug of lemonade, pointing out where the glasses were kept to Rosalie. "Every year he does seem to be in some sort of danger." Neville commented as he reappeared.

"Tell me about it." Rose said wryly. "I end up hearing about it in dribs and drabs as he or Aunt Minerva remember to tell me. I spent days last year thinking he'd been petrified because I couldn't contact anyone."

Neville grimaced as he handed her two of the glasses and took two himself before leading her back into the garden. "I hope this year's a bit better."

"With Sirius Black around? I somehow doubt it." Rose said gloomily.

"True. The ministry will catch him though, won't they?"

"I have absolutely no faith in the British ministry." Rose said scathingly. "They're incompetent fools."

"I quite agree." Augusta Longbottom appeared in front of them, Harry close behind and took one of the glasses Rose held. "I'm going to sit inside for a while- it's far too hot out here for my taste."

She walked away, leaving Neville to hand one of his glasses to Harry and look at him questioningly. "Are you okay?"

Harry shook his head, visibly upset. "He wasn't just their friend." He said in a low voice. "He was their best friend. And my Godfather."

"Oh Harry…" Rose was pale, and reached out tentatively to touch his shoulder. Neville urged them to sit down on the grass and in a slow, hesitant voice Harry told them the story he'd just been told, of Sirius Black and his family, his sorting into Gryffindor and eventual disownment all the way up until that Halloween all those years ago.

"I'm so sorry Harry." Neville said softly once he'd finished. Harry swallowed thickly, glancing at Rose.

"I don't understand. Madam Longbottom said he was as good as their brother, just as I am to you but the thought of betraying you makes me feel physically sick. So how could he?" he asked blankly.

"I don't know." She answered softly, moving to rest her head on his shoulder. "Maybe he didn't feel as your father did, as we do."

"Forget the brother bit, I don't understand how he could betray his friends. Any friends." Neville added.

"Because that's how Voldemort worked." Said a voice from behind them and they turned to see Minerva stood there, face tired. "He made promises and manipulated people, until eventually they felt they had no choice other than to join them."

"But to betray the people you love? Who love you?" Harry questioned hoarsely. Minerva shrugged, lowering herself to sit next to them and wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

"That, _a leannan,_ is something hundreds of people have asked every day since he first rose to power."

* * *

Needless to say, once Harry had calmed down and they'd all returned to France they were both punished for disobeying their aunt, put to work with chores and even more study during the little free time they had. They weren't allowed to complete it in the garden any more either. She also forbid them from interacting with their friends in any way, other than at classes when it was unavoidable.

The last one wasn't too harsh on them- they'd always been more comfortable in each other's company than anyone else's but being kept inside when outside the sun shone so brightly was maddening. But they respected their aunt too much to disobey her again even if Missy had let them, once she had travelled back to Hogwarts.

"I'm bored." Rose flopped down onto the table. Harry didn't even glance up at her from his transfiguration homework.

"Don't you have work to do?"

"No. I just finished my work for fourth year, and all of it for this year for muggle school." She groaned.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You're going to be bored stiff during lessons."

"I'm aware."

They sat in silence for a few minutes more, Harry working until Rose suddenly inquired "Have you seen this?"

Harry looked over and frowned. "When did you start getting the Prophet?"

"It's Auntie's- she lets me read her copies. It says that nobody has even spotted Sirius Black, let alone come close to capturing him."

"Wonderful. I feel so safe." Harry said dryly, peeking over at the story.

"I still don't understand why _Maman_ never mentioned him."

"It would be so much easier if we could ask her." He agreed with a sigh. She nodded in agreement, then paused.

"Her old school trunk is still in her wardrobe- we could look?" she suggested hesitantly. Harry looked uneasy.

"That feels a bit like snooping."

"Do you have a better idea?" Rose pointed out. Harry shook his head.

"Aren't we supposed to be at the studio tonight?"

"Damn. I'd forgotten." Rose cursed. "I'll go call them and tell them we're unable to come-"

"No." Harry cut her off. "It's too dangerous."

"I hate to point it out, brother-mine, but you're the one everyone is looking for." Rose said in amusement as she stood up and shrugged her cardigan on. "I'm just a blonde French girl using the phone."

"Rosie-" Harry began but she ignored him.

"I'll be back in less than ten minutes!" she called as she raced out of the door. Harry nibbled his lip nervously, eyes fixed on the clock on the wall, watching each minute tick past. He was so intent in his concentration that when after eight and a half minutes a voice sounded behind him he visibly jumped into the air.

"Harry?" Rosalie was watching him quizzically, head tilted. "What are you doing?"

"I, er…" he glanced nervously from her to the clock as delighted realisation swept over her.

"Were you timing me?"

"Not like that!" he protested. "I was- are you laughing at me?"

She was indeed, hand pressed to her mouth as she giggled uncontrollably. "You are funny, Harry."

He pouted. "And you're mean."

"Perhaps a little." She grinned, kissing his cheek. "But thank you for worrying. Shall we?"

The climbed to their mother's room, opening the door uncertainly and creeping inside. Although Missy regularly washed the sheets and dusted, there was a peculiar air in the room, an unlived in feel, as if it knew it's occupant was gone. Rose crossed to the wardrobe, tugging the trunk from the bottom but Harry grew distracted with the photos placed on the chest of drawers.

"These weren't here before." He noted in confusion. Rose glanced over to him.

" _Maman_ put them up after you left for Hogwarts. I think she was lonelier, once you'd left." She rose to stand next to him, gazing at the photos.

"She had you."

"She went from having two rambunctious children underfoot to having one fairly quiet girl who spent most of her time out of the house." Rose smiled sadly, picking up the photo of the three of them at the Eiffel Tower. "I wish I hadn't."

"You couldn't have known what was going to happen Rosie." Harry wrapped an arm around her.

"I suppose not." She admitted softly. Then reached out again on confusion. "I haven't seen this one before."

"Hey, those are my birth parents." Harry realised, the people in the picture smiling and laughing at the camera. Rose held it up to the light.

"Look, that's Aunt Minerva in the middle." She pointed out. "And _Maman_ standing beside her. And doesn't that girl look a little like Neville? It must be Aunt Alice."

"It does." Harry agreed. "The girl next to mum, with dark curls. Didn't she used to say her friend Marlene McKinnon had wild dark curls? She used to joke about how mine was rivalled only by hers."

"She did. I wonder who the boys are?"

The same thought occurred to them at the same time and they looked at each other with wide eyes. "One of them is Sirius Black." Harry realised. They poured over the paper again.

"That one." Rose said, pointing.

"You can't possibly know that!" Harry exclaimed.

"Well of course I can." She huffed. He looked at her expectantly.

"Go on then, how do you know?"

She sighed. "He's a Black, yes? Well, they're rich purebloods. The boy with sandy hair is wearing mended robes- you can see the stitches in the arm, and the Black family would never have allowed that. They would have just bought new ones. So it's not him. The other boy is standing apart from the others, just a little separated, see? Aunt Min said your father and he were as close as brothers, so it's obviously not him which means it's him." She tapped the paper with her finger, indicating the dark haired boy who was smirking up at them.

"Do you have to know everything?" He crossed his arms. She smirked, shrugging.

"Yes."

They returned to the trunk, going through it carefully for over an hour until in a separate box they found stacks of pictures. They cut the pile in half, each looking through them. Rose was studying a photo of her mother and the other three Gryffindor girls when she heard Harry's breath catch.

"What is it?"

Without a word, he raised the picture in his hand beside her head, level with his eyes and bewildered, Rose watched as his eyes flitted between it and her face. "Harry?"

He swallowed thickly, lowering the paper to show her. It was a picture of their mother and Sirius standing together laughing and all of a sudden his hand snaked out to pull her closer to him by her waist. She laughed, pressing a kiss to his lips before pulling away and the process started again. "They dated?" Rosalie questioned in surprise. She handed the photo back, shrugging. "Questionable taste in men isn't a crime Harry."

"No, you don't understand. Look at them." He insisted. Rose did so, but saw nothing different.

"I don't understand what you're trying to show me."

"Rose, his eyes." Harry explained. She looked to the picture, then back to him, mystified. "They're your eyes Rosie. You have the same eyes."


	15. Chapter 15

Rose stared at him, the looked back to the picture. "But… that doesn't mean anything." She protested faintly. She looked back at him, pale. "Does it?"

"Rose… it's not just the eyes." Harry said quietly. "Look at the picture- you look like the exact mixture of the two of them. Mum's hair, his nose and jaw, mum's cheekbones…"

"I… but…." Rose stuttered. She fell silent for a moment, then surged to her feet.

"Rosie?"

Harry scrambled up after her as she ran down the hall and into their Aunts room, knocking only once and entering without waiting for a reply. " _Tata_? _Tata!_ "

Harry arrived in time to see their Aunt jerk awake from where she'd been resting, confusion misting over her for a moment before realisation set in. "What's wrong? Has something happened?"

"Is Sirius Black my father?" Rosalie demanded, holding up the picture. Minerva looked at her in shock.

"I…"

"Is he my father?" Rose questioned again.

"Rose… I don't know…"

"Don't lie to me!" she yelled. Her aunt stared at her with wide eyes. "Just tell me."

Minerva pressed her lips together. "I think so, yes." She admitted quietly.

Rose stumbled back, pressing a hand to her mouth as the picture fluttered from her fingers to the floor. She looked sick, trembling. "Rose! Rose, I don't know for sure!" Minerva scrambled off of the bed to grasp the girl's hands in hers. "I don't know! Your mother never told me."

"You must have a reason for thinking it though." Harry pointed out. Minerva sighed, drawing Rosalie to sit next to her on the bed and patting it the other side in invitation to Harry.

"Your mother and Sirius were on-again off-again since late fifth year- they started dating seriously after they left school and were still dating when your parents died, Harry. I assumed you were his daughter but I never asked, _a leannan_ , I don't know for certain."

"I think there's enough evidence to say with relative certainty, don't you?" Rose said bitterly. "A psychopathic mass murderer is my father."

"Oh Rose." She sighed, wrapping an arm around her.

"You should hate me Harry." The girl said numbly.

"What? Don't be stupid- why would I hate you?" he frowned.

"My father is the reason your parents are dead."

He pushed off of the bed and came around to kneel in front of her. "And _our_ mother is the reason i'm not living with abusive relatives. I don't believe in the sins of the father, Rosie, never have. So he donated some genetic material- big deal. You're not him."

But she shook her head, pulling violently away from them both and backing out the room. "Rosie!" Harry called after her but she turned and ran, rushing from the house without even bothering to pick up her wand. She hadn't taken her sandals off from earlier and they now slapped against the pavement, sounding far too loud in the peaceful summer's day.

She burst through the door of _le lutin lilas_ and threw a handful of powder into the floo, not pausing when _monsieur Henri_ called out to her. She didn't stop in _le boulevard_ either, continuing to run out into muggle Paris, exclamations and shouts following her as she dodged past people and barrelled through crowds.

Finally, eventually, her lungs aching and her legs burning she collapsed in park, tears causing the green in front of her to blur as she trembled uncontrollably. She needed to go _somewhere_ , to do _something,_ but her brain was in a fog and the only coherent thing she could think of was _Sirius Black is my father._

She couldn't go to the studio- she'd told them she had a family emergency. School was closed and would be locked, her mother was possibly the last person she wanted to see right now. Appolline and Jean-Claude would worry and insist on contacting Minerva, her muggle friends simply wouldn't understand, Neville would tell his grandmother who would also contact Minerva and Gideon…

Gideon.

Lurching to her feet, Rosalie stumbled out of the park and in the direction of the gym, her arms wrapped around herself as she blinked furiously to keep her vision from blurring. She slipped inside, past the receptionist who absently smiled at her, then frowned when she saw the state she was in and went into the main training area. Gideon was in the centre of the platform, overseeing a sparring session between two young men. He glanced up, and a strange expression crossed his face when he caught sight of her.

"You will not fight other students." He said abruptly, striding over to her and looking at her appraisingly. Confusion washed through her. "You harm them if you do. You fight me instead. Go. Change clothes. Come back here." He gave a small push and she crossed the room to do as he said, almost mechanical in her motions. She returned, sweeping her hair into a ponytail and looking at him expectantly.

Gideon spread his weight more evenly, and relaxed. "Begin."

Grateful he hadn't asked questions, she settled her own weight, and launched forwards.

* * *

After several hours of sparring and training, Gideon had sent her home with a clearer head and a calmer temperament, warning her to go straight there or be barred for a month. She had done so, much the relief of her aunt and brother, who immediately reiterated their previous statements and spent the next few days assuring her it didn't matter. One week later and Rose had mostly moved on, at least to her brother and Aunt. Privately, the revelation that Sirius Black was her father still unsettled her but she didn't let it show to her worried family. Minerva had lifted the restrictions on her and Harry, which Rose suspected was more out of sympathy than paid dues, although her aunt insisted otherwise.

She moved quickly through the streets of Paris; she'd risen early and left before even Missy was up, and few people were around. She entered the gym she and Harry trained at, quickly signing in before going in search of her mentor.

"Gideon?"

"Here." She followed his voice to the back of the gym where he sat cleaning some of the practice weapons. He looked up as she approached, looking at her curiously. "This is a surprise. Where is your other half?"

"Still asleep probably." She settled in front of him, crossing her legs under her. "I need your help. It's somewhat… unorthodox."

"I see. You had better explain then." He emptied his hands and leant forward, his full attention on her.

She took a deep breath. "Do you remember the reason Harry and I train so hard?"

"Of course. The gang who may come after your brother, and therefore you also."

"A few weeks ago, one of the members broke out of prison. They think he's coming after Harry." Rose pressed her lips together, tucking her fingers under her legs to hide the tremble in them. "The police can't find any trace of him and I'm worried."

Gideon looked at her warily. "What exactly are you asking me for?"

"A way he can defend himself against a psychopath?" she bit her lip. "I know how good he is at defence but…"

"You want something more foolproof." He finished, and she nodded. He sighed, leaning back and considering her for a moment. "I may have something… is not legal but will give him an edge."

"With all due respect Sir, my family has enough money and connections not to worry about legal." She said quietly.

He observed her with a considering gaze and nodded once, gesturing for her to follow him. She did so, curious when they descended down a set of stairs at the very back of the gym hidden from public view. "Where are we going?"

"You wanted a method for your brother to defend himself."

He typed in a code for the door at the bottom and Rose found herself in a storeroom, boxes and old training tools littered around. Confusion washed over her, until she watched as Gideon moved several of the boxes at the back away from the wall and unpinned a poster hanging there to revel another, innocuous looking door. He unlocked it and gestured for her to follow.

She gasped as she stared at the room around her, filled with guns in glass cases.

"You want Harry to use a gun?" she questioned breathlessly.

"I want you both to use one." He answered. Her eyes widened. "Come." He ordered. He handed her a pair of plastic goggles and large ear protectors, before holding out a small, black gun to her. "Take it."

She cautiously reached out and held it gently. Gideon scoffed. "Is a gun, not a bomb. Here." He reached out, wrapping her fingers firmly around it. "Good gun. Small, because you have little hands. Is easy to hide also, very compact. Little recoil so easy shooting."

Rosalie gulped. "Um…"

"This is the safety." He showed her. "Manual disengagement is needed. This one holds ten rounds. You grip with both hands, like so." He demonstrated. "Now come. Put your protectors on."

She did so as he showed her through to another room, which was some sort of targeting area. They stood at one end, next to a small table with paper targets hanging about half way down. "Stand like with feet apart… little further. Low gravity, easy balance. Like sparring." He said cheerfully.

Over the next several hours, he walked her through how to shoot properly, helping her improve her aim. It wasn't too bad, to Rose's surprise but Gideon explained it away as good hand-to-eye coordination, bettered by years of dance, gymnastics, music and defence training.

It was mid-afternoon by the time he was satisfied enough. "You will do okay. Come again in few days and bring your brother. I teach him also."

Rose nodded, her hands aching, especially her trigger finger. She climbed back up to the gym, smiling when she recognised some of the men training there. "Rose!" one called. " _Comment ça va?_ "

" _Mieux que toi._ " She observed, noting his swelling eye and bruised knuckles. He grinned, shrugging and switching to heavily accented English.

"Francois does not believe zat you are one of ze best fighters 'ere. Will you show 'im 'e is wrong?"

Rose glanced over the man he gestured to, young and muscled with a stylish haircut. She smiled, aware it was a little sinister. " _Mon plaisir._ "

Dressed in leggings and a tight tunic, she didn't need to change and so quickly put on the protective clothes that several of the smirking men were offering her, and entered the sparring arena.

* * *

"Where have you been?!" Harry demanded as soon as Rose had stepped through the door. "You've been gone all day!"

"I left a note." Rose toed her shoes off, holding her hands gingerly.

" _Going out, be back later._ " Harry read. "That's helpful, really!"

"What is wrong with you?" Rose frowned. "You were complaining only days ago how much time we've spent together- I thought you'd be glad to be rid of me."

"Not to that extent! You've been gone hours! I thought something had happened to you!"

He was angry but Rose was too tired to fight with him, and so simply brushed past him into the kitchen where she ran her hands under cold water. "Don't ignore me!" he shouted. She simply pinned him with a calm look, waiting for his anger to tire out. He continued to yell but the words just washed over her as she tentatively waggled her fingers in the water, watching absently as it washed over her and down the drain. And then her brother's voice broke through her haze. "Why are you doing that?"

She glanced up at him, saw his furious expression had been overtaken by one of concern and confusion. "I think I fractured it." She commented, holding up her swollen hand to the light.

"WHAT?"

Harry rushed over to look at him. "You were at the gym?"

" _Oui._ " Rose nodded. "I asked Gideon if there was another defence you could you, and got a little distracted on the way out." She shrugged sheepishly.

"Did you win?" Harry felt the corner of his mouth lift in a smirk.

" _Naturellement._ "

"Well done." He smiled slightly. "And Gideon? Did he give you what you wanted?"

" _Oui._ " She ducked her head, avoiding his eyes as she stared fixatedly at her hands. "He taught me to shoot and suggests I bring you along later in the week to learn as well."

There was a long silence, and finally she risked a glance up at him. He was standing shocked, mouth open. " _What_?"

"Harry…" she began but he cut her off.

"Are you insane!?" he cried. "Shooting? With a gun?"

"Sirius Black won't be expecting it!" she answered hastily. That brought him up short. "If you learn, you will have an advantage! What can a wand do against a gun?"

"Mum would kill us both." He said lowly.

" _Maman_ is not here!" she cried. "There is a high chance she never will be! But Sirius Black is and he is coming for you! You might be talented at sparring _mon frère_ , but he is a fully grown man and you are a child! Please…"

"I don't know. I need to think." He stormed off into the garden, torn between the knowledge that Rose was right and the instinctive horror of the thought of using a gun. "Missy?"

The elf appeared with a pop, smiling cheerily. "Master Harry?"

"Can you go to Rose please? She's injured her hand." He requested quietly. Missy gave him a concerned look but nodded and vanished. Harry cradled his head in his hands, sinking to sit on a bench.

Several hours passed, with Missy appearing several times to urge him to eat, or come inside. He accepted the bowl of stew that she brought out but refused to leave his spot, still trying to process the day. At last, Missy threatened to enchant him to sleep if he didn't go to bed and he reluctantly agreed, slowly climbing the stairs but he paused at the top, seeing the light shining from underneath Rose's door.

He sighed.

"Rose?" he called softly. When there was no answer to his quiet knock, he carefully eased it open.

Rose was fully dressed, fast asleep on top of her covers on the bed. Harry grinned slightly, stepping into the room and dimming the light as low as he could, before he grabbed the throw that sat on the end of the bed and covered her with it lightly. He intended to sneak back out but Rose stirred, frowning drowsily. "Harry?"

He winced. "Go back to sleep Rosie."

"Are you mad at me?" she murmured, rubbing her eyes with her fist like a child. He sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"No." he admitted. She smiled sleepily at him. "I get why you did it. Besides, haven't we established we can never argue for long?"

"I think the record is less than a day."

"Well then." He leant over and pressed a kiss to her head. "Get some sleep little sister."

" _Bon nuit, mon frère._ "


	16. Chapter 16

_**Hi everyone! Thank you so much for reviewing and favouriting! I'm really glad you're enjoying it :-) tell me what you think of this one? X**_

Harry had eventually accepted the idea and he and Rosalie had trained as much as possible with the guns, adding in several hours of practise before their usual Krav Maga sessions. They quickly became relatively proficient under Gideon's relentless instruction, despite the cramping hands and occasional bruises. They even went up against each other in a competition, with Rose just besting her brother in terms of accuracy but Harry beating her by firing more quickly, reducing the possibility of returning fire. Or, in their case, their opponent firing spells back at them.

When the end of summer came around, Gideon gifted them each with the gun they'd been training with. Minerva was still in England, unable to escape the search for Harry without rousing suspicion and so it was Appolline who apparated with Harry to King's Cross on the first of September, Jean-Claude following with Rose, who hugged Harry tightly.

"Promise me you'll continue to train?" she pleaded.

"I promise." He swore. "I have no intention of letting Black or Voldemort getting to me."

His uncle and aunt hugged him too, the latter cautioning him: "Be careful, _ma Cherie._ From what your ozzer _tante_ 'as written, zings will be more complicated at 'Ogwarts zis year."

"I'll be careful, _tata._ "

"Harry! Rose!" they turned at the sound of their names to see a beaming Neville walking towards them through the few people loitering around.

"Hi Nev!" Rose greeted cheerily, bouncing over to hug him and Harry grinned lopsidedly.

"Alright? Why are you here so early?"

He shrugged. "I figured you would be, so I thought I'd come keep you company."

"Thanks." Harry said in surprise.

"'Arry, we 'ave to go." Jean-Claude said apologetically. Harry nodded.

"I'll be fine. I'll owl if anything happens."

" _Au revoir, mon frère._ " Rose smiled softly as she took her uncle's arm. " _Au revoir,_ Neville."

"Bye Rose."

" _Au revoir ma petite soeur._ "

"Remember you don't know you've been missing!" Rose reminded him hastily before they vanished with a pop, leaving Harry to sigh and turn to Neville.

"Want help with your trunk?"

A commotion had them looking up curiously, to see the Weasleys pouring onto the platform with Hermione, who spotted Harry first and paled dramatically, shrieking his name out loudly and flying into his arms.

Harry grunted as he caught her, the breath knocked out of him even as he automatically hugged her back. "'Mione! Need to breathe…" he wheezed.

"Sorry!" she stepped back but didn't release him completely. "Where have you been?!"

Harry looked at her blankly, feigning confusion. "What?"

"Dumbledore and an auror came to my house over summer saying that you were missing and there was a mass murderer after you! My parents were horrified!" her voice became a hiss at the end as the Weasleys drew nearer.

"Harry! Mate, you're all right!" Ron cried.

"Harry, dear fellow!"

"How smashing to see you!"

"So glad you're not dead!"

The twins each enthusiastically wrenched his hand up and down before Harry found himself smothered in a hug from Mrs Weasley. "Oh, Harry dear we were so worried! When we heard that you were missing… well, I suppose that all that matters is that you're all right."

"I'm fine Mrs Weasley." He assured her, forcing a look of puzzlement on his face. "What are you all talking about?"

"Why Harry!" Mr Weasley exclaimed in amazement. "Half the ministry's been looking for you for weeks!"

"For me? Why?" he asked innocently.

"Because of Sirius Black, mate." Ron answered.

"Ron!" Mrs Weasley hissed.

"No, he needs to know dear." Her husband decided gently. "Harry-"

"I know who Sirius Black is and that he might be coming after me." Harry interrupted, thinking of the gun concealed at his back. The Weasleys looked shocked. "What I don't understand is why you were looking for me."

"To make sure you're safe!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed.

"Mrs Weasley, I was at home with my family." Harry tilted his head. "Why wouldn't I have been?"

"Arthur, we should contact the headmaster." Mrs Weasley said to her husband as if Harry hadn't spoken. "He needs to know Harry is here."

"Mrs Weasley…."

"Yes dear… Percy, could we borrow Hermes?" Mr Weasley enquired.

"Of course father."

"Mrs Weasley…" Harry tried again.

"No Arthur! We need to be quicker than that- he's been so worried all summer!"

"Well, I could go and floo him but to be honest the chance of tracking him down before the owl would have gotten there-"

"Arthur!"

Harry glanced at Neville who was looking rather amazed at the pair and shrugged, picking up one end of the other boy's trunk. "Heave ho!" he said cheerfully as they wrestled across the platform.

"Why didn't you get a trolley?" called a voice.

"Hi Susan! And Hannah…" Harry added when he spotted her standing behind her friend. Neville echoed his sentiments and grinned wryly as he answered Susan's question.

"There were none left."

"Auntie, this is Harry and you know Neville." Susan introduced a stern looking woman with a monocle in one eye. "My aunt, Amelia Bones."

Neville smiled shyly. "Hello Minister."

"It's nice to meet you." Harry smiled. "My uncle speaks very highly of you, ma'am."

She smiled but looked questioning. "Your uncle?"

"Jean-Claude Delacour."

"Jean-Claude?" she looked delighted. "He's a good man- I speak very highly of him as well." She looked at Harry down the bridge of her nose. "You've caused a lot of worry this last few weeks."

"So everyone keeps telling me." Harry sighed. "I assure you ma'am, it wasn't intentional."

She raised an eyebrow. "I should hope not. I hope to see you both soon, but I'm needed back at the office. Susie?"

Harry and Neville continued with the trunk and eventually hoisted it onto the train. "You really need a feather-light charm on this!" Harry panted as they collapsed to the top of it. Neville nodded in agreement.

"Get out the way!" someone called from the platform.

"Sorry!" they jumped up and pushed it down the corridor into the compartment Harry had saved and sitting chatting until Harry heard Mrs Weasley screeching his name. He poked his head out of the window. "Yes?"

"What are you doing?!" she demanded. He blinked.

"Waiting for the train to leave?" he said slowly. She spluttered.

"Harry!"

"Mrs Weasley!" he chirped back. Behind him, Neville stifled a laugh.

"Molly dear, let's leave it." Her husband rested her hand on her shoulders. The train whistled and the Weasleys hurried to say their goodbyes as Hermione joined Harry and Neville in the carriage.

"Hermione." Harry turned to her urgently. "Did you tell Dumbledore anything?"

"No!" she hissed. "Although quite frankly I think asking me to lie to the headmaster is-"

"Hermione!" he interrupted. "Not now. You know why."

He threw himself into a seat and closed his eyes, beginning the breathing exercises Gideon had taught him. The door slid open and closed several times, and voices murmured around him but he paid them no attention, choosing instead to carry on keeping calm, something he suspected he was going to find difficult when inevitably Dumbledore would want a meeting.

He did open his eyes, however, when he felt the train begin to slow. "We can't be here already?" he questioned in puzzlement. Rain pelted the windows as the wind howled and he moved closer to the glass as Hermione voiced her agreement.

"So why're we stopping?" Ron questioned.

"Nobody seems to know." Commented Susan, peering down the corridor. The train stopped with a shuddering jolt; distant thuds and bangs suggested that luggage had fallen out of the racks. Then Ginny and Hannah screamed as they were plunged into darkness as the light went out.

"What's going on?" asked Ron's voice.

"I don't like this…" muttered Neville.

"Not sure I do either." Came Seamus's voice from the floor.

"D'you think we've broken down?" Susan asked.

"I thought it was powered with magic?" questioned Ginny.

Ron shifted to peer out the window beside Harry as Hermione answered. "It is."

"There's something moving out there," Ron said. "I think people are coming aboard..."

"Who would be coming aboard?" asked Dean.

"I'm going to go speak to the driver." Hermione decided, sliding from her seat. There was an immediate yelp of pain from Seamus.

"Watch out!"

"Sorry!"

"Shush!" Harry ordered suddenly. They all fell into silence, to hear a whispering from outside the compartment. "'Mione? Lock the door- you're closest." He ordered in a whisper. She murmured a spell and it shot towards the door. "Gin, Suse, Hannah, come here."

"Where?"

"Towards the window. Watch out for Seamus."

"S'ok, I'm up now."

"Wands out."

The handle of the door rattled. Harry had moved in front of the three girls and now reached out, slowly, to pull Hermione to her feet and move her towards them. This meant he was in front of the huddled group, wand held in front of him as the lock clicked open.

"What is that?!" breathed Hermione as the hooded creature was revealed. It drew in a slow, wet breath that rattled in its throat and instantly Harry felt as if he'd been plunged into ice water.

"Dementor." He inhaled sharply, struggling against the cold that threatened to overwhelm him. "He isn't here! Sirius Black isn't here!"

The thing hissed and made to move forward.

 _Summer_

 _Harry and Rose jumped as Minerva slammed her papers onto the table. "Of all the stupid, idiotic ideas!" she muttered. "… Asking for trouble… no common sense… nightmare…"_

 _Harry and Rose exchanged a long glance, having a silent conversation between themselves. Harry sighed, turning to their aunt. "_ Tata? _" he enquired tentatively. "Is everything all right?"_

 _"_ _No!" she growled. The children both had wide eyes, looking at each other again, and this time Minerva noticed. "Sorry." She apologised with a sigh. "It's Dumbledore."_

 _"_ _What's he done now?" Rose groaned._

 _"_ _Allowed the guards of Azkaban to be posted around the school."_

 _Another mystified look was exchanged. "That… doesn't sound too terrible…" Harry said uncertainly._

 _"_ _The guards of Azkaban are Dementors." She said flatly._

 _Rose smirked slightly. "Demented?"_

 _"_ _I suppose they'd have to be." Grinned Harry._

 _Minerva perused her lips, looking at them disapprovingly._

 _"_ _Auntie, what is it?" Rose asked her, trying to ward off a lecture._

 _"_ _The Dementors of Azkaban are creatures of darkness- they feed on the happy memories of the prisoners, driving them mad. Of anyone around them, actually. They suck the souls out of the condemned." She explained._

 _"_ _Souls?"_

 _She nodded once. "It's a fate worse than death."_

 _"_ _And they're at Hogwarts?" Harry asked disbelievingly. "Around kids?"_

 _Their aunt nodded. "Is there any way to get rid of them?" asked Rose._

 _"_ _You mean stop their presence? No, it's already been decided. There's a spell to repel them though. Expecto Patronum- you think of your happiest memory and it drives them away." She mused._

 _"_ _Can you teach us?" Rose asked, receiving a grateful smile from her brother. But Minerva shook her head._

 _"_ _It's very advanced magic- too advanced for even you two. You'll just have to avoid them I'm afraid." She sighed, looking down at the papers in front of her. "First years… Timetables…. Hufflepuff…" she began to mumble to herself as she shifted through them. Harry and Rose looked at each other, determination creeping into their gazes._

 _Their aunt really should have learnt that telling them they couldn't do something was just an invitation to try._

Present Day

"Expecto Patronum!"

Harry concentrated on his memory of a day out for Rose's belated birthday. But nothing happened.

Harry gasped, falling to his knees as his eyes rolled back. "Expecto Patronum! Expecto… Patronum…!"

The memory of leaving the Dursleys came to him- the happiness he's felt when he realised that he was safe, that he had a home and a family and that he wasn't a freak all alone in the world. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Silver burst from his wand as his world went dark and screams echoed in his ears.

* * *

"Harry! Harry! Are you all right?"

Someone was slapping his face. "W- what?"

Harry pried open his eyes; there were lights floating above him, and the floor was trembling beneath him. "We're moving…" he noted absently. He was on the floor, the others sitting with their legs drawn up onto the seats, with Ron and Hermione kneeling next to him. "Ugh, I feel terrible. This is worse than when Gideon punishes us."

"Who's Gideon?" questioned Hermione, supporting him as he sat up. When he pushed his glasses back on properly, he felt cold sweat on his face and frowned.

"Doesn't matter. What happened? Where's the Dementor? Who screamed?"

"No one screamed," said Ron nervously. Harry looked around the bright compartment. The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs looked back at him, all very pale.

"But I heard screaming-" he frowned. There was a loud snap that made them all jump and Harry turned to see a brown haired man breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces.

"Here," he said to Harry, handing him a particularly large piece. "Eat it. It'll help."

Harry took the chocolate but didn't eat it. "Who are you?" he asked warily.

"Professor Remus Lupin." The man introduced. Harry's eyes narrowed. "I'm your defence against the dark arts teacher this year."

"Oh." He said stiffly. Lupin was now handing chocolate to everyone else.

"Your patronus was impressive." He said conversationally. "Especially at your age."

"That wasn't my patronus." Harry said shortly. "Prongs is my patronus- I just made some mist."

The professor spluttered, eyes wide in shock. Harry climbed to his feet, steadied by Ron. "Those things are as horrible as the books said." He commented thoughtfully, chewing on the chocolate. "I wasn't quite expecting the effect."

He noticed the entire carriage was staring at him. "What?"

"Eat your chocolate." Lupin said faintly. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me..."

"Harry!" Hermione scolded. "That was incredibly rude! And to a professor!"

"I know him. He deserved it." Harry said darkly. Susan frowned.

"If you know him, why didn't you recognise him?"

"I know _of_ him." He amended. "I know who he is- It's a long story. Can someone explain the dementor first?"

"Well, it sort of recoiled when that light came out of your wand." Hermione explained hesitantly.

"I thought you were having a fit or something," said Ron, who still looked scared. "You went sort of rigid, fell out to the floor and started twitching."

"It was horrible." Hannah shivered.

"And then Professor Lupin appeared and a silver wolf shot out of his wand, and it turned around and sort of glided away..."

"It was horrid." said Neville, in a higher voice than usual. "Did you feel how cold it got when it came in?"

"Like ice." Agreed Dean.

"I felt weird," said Ron, shrugging his shoulders uncomfortably. "Like I'd never be cheerful again..."

Ginny was huddled between Fred and George, who had appeared from somewhere. looking nearly as bad as Harry felt. She gave a small sob; the twins each put a comforting arm around her.

"But none of you collapsed?" asked Harry pensively.

"No," Seamus shook his head. "Ginny was shaking like mad, though..."

"Curious…"

Professor Lupin chose this moment to enter again. He paused as he did, looked around and said with a weak smile: "I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know..."

Harry now noticed no one else had eaten theirs, and instead they all looked to him. "Do it- you'll feel better." He advised. They all did so, munching happily as they readjusted themselves so that everybody could sit down, even if it was on someone else's lap.

"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes," said Professor Lupin. "Are you all right, Harry?"

Harry felt a flash of irritation at the man being so familiar but clamped down on it- he would be grading his work this year after all. "Fine, thank you." he answered curtly.

They chattered quietly amongst themselves for the remainder of the journey, leaving in two's or three's to change into their robes. Eventually the train stopped at Hogsmeade station where there was a great scramble to get outside. It was freezing on the tiny platform; rain was falling in icy sheets and Harry watched Fred and George move to try to shield Ginny, who was still deathly pale.

"Firs' years this way!" called a familiar voice. They all turned to see the giant outline of Hagrid at the other end of the platform, beckoning the terrified-looking students forward for their usual journey across the lake. "All right, you lot?" Hagrid yelled over the heads of the crowd. They waved at him, and allowed themselves to be carried along the platform to where the hundreds of stagecoaches awaited them.

The talk continued as they piled into one and began the journey to the castle; as Harry stepped down at the other end, a drawling, delighted voice sounded out.

"You fainted, Potter? Is Abbott telling the truth? You actually fainted?"

Malfoy elbowed past other students to block Harry's way up the steps to the castle, gleeful with his eyes glinting maliciously. "Shove off, Malfoy," said Ron, jaw clenched.

Harry had far too many problems already this year, and decided to attempt to reestablish the tentative comradery he and the blond had had during their first year. Ron's disastrous fiasco with the polyjuice the year before had ended it, and although Harry was relatively sure Malfoy's pride would never allow them to be friends, he didn't particularly want to be enemies.

"You'd faint if there was a bloody dementor standing in front of you!" he called back good naturedly. "You ever been in close contact with one? Worse than a fey."

Malfoy looked a little taken aback, but Harry saw the malice in his eyes fade. "I don't know- least they can't curse you." He pointed out.

"No, just suck your soul out." Harry said dryly.

"Is there a problem?" said a mild voice. Professor Lupin had just gotten out of the next carriage, and was looking at how Malfoy blocked Harry's path.

"Why would there be?" Harry questioned, a little rudely. Malfoy gave the professor an insolent stare, which took in the patches on his robes and the dilapidated suitcase. With a tiny hint of sarcasm in his voice, he agreed,

"No problem- er- _Professor_."

He turned and the large group made their way into the hall together, the others unsure of why Harry was so hostile to Lupin but following his lead nonetheless. They joined the crowd swarming up the steps, through the giant oak doors and into the cavernous entrance hall, which was lit with flaming torches whose light bounced off the grand marble staircase that led to the upper floors.

The door into the Great Hall stood open at the right and they followed the crowd towards it, but didn't make it quite there before a voice rang out: "Potter! Granger! I want to see you both!"

Harry and Hermione turned around, surprised to see Professor McGonagall calling over the heads of the crowd. Harry looked at her curiously as he fought his way over to her, grabbing Hermione's hand to pull her along as well. "There's no need to look so worried- I just want a word in my office." she told him. "Move along there, Weasley."

Ron stared as Professor McGonagall ushered Harry and Hermione away across the entrance hall, up the marble staircase, and along a corridor to her office. Once the door was closed, she motioned for Hermione to sit down and turned to Harry, holding him at arm's length and looking him over. "Are you okay? Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you were taken ill on the train."

Before he could reply, there was a soft knock on the door and Madam Pomphrey bustled in. Harry sighed. "I'm fine," he said, "I don't need anything."

"Oh, Mr Potter, again?" said Madam Pomphrey, ignoring this and bending down to look over him. "I suppose you've been doing something dangerous again?"

"It was a dementor, Poppy." His aunt said quietly. They exchanged a dark look, and Madam Pomphrey clucked disapprovingly.

"Putting dementors around a school!" she muttered, pushing back Harry's hair and feeling his forehead. "He won't be the last one who collapses. Yes, he's all clammy. Terrible things, they are, and the effect they have on people who are already delicate…"

"I'm not delicate!" protested Harry crossly.

"Of course you're not," she said absentmindedly, now taking his pulse.

"What does he need?" said Minerva crisply. "Bed rest? Should he perhaps spend tonight in the hospital wing?"

"I'm fine!" assured Harry, jumping up. "Really! I just wasn't expecting their full effect."

"Well, he should have some chocolate, at the very least," said Madam Pomphrey, who was now trying to peer into Harry's eyes.

"I've already had some." He piped up. "Lupin gave me some. He gave it to all of us."

"Professor Lupin, _a leannan._ " Minerva corrected absently.

"Did he, now?" said Madam Pomphrey approvingly. "So we've finally got a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies?"

"Are you sure you feel all right, Harry?" Minerva questioned sharply.

"Positive." said Harry.

"Very well. Kindly wait outside while I have a quick word with Miss Granger about her course schedule, then we can go down to the feast together. And at some point, we're going to have a conversation about why Professor Lupin is under the impression you can do a patronus charm, but that can wait until Rose can join us." She looked at him knowingly, and he gave her a sheepish smile in response before going back into the corridor with Madam Pomphrey, who left for the hospital wing, muttering to herself. A few minutes later and Hermione emerged looking very happy about something, followed by Professor McGonagall, and the three of them made their way back down the marble staircase to the Great Hall.

"Are you sure you're all right?" His aunt murmured to him on the way.

"Fine. I don't understand though- why did I hear screaming and why the hell is Remus Lupin here?" he hissed.

"Language." She reproached. Hermione glanced back at them curiously. "I don't know about the first, and as for the second- it was Dumbledore."

"There's a surprise." Harry muttered.

"If I had to guess, I'd say Dumbledore is hoping that the connection with your parents will have some effect on you."

"Oh, it does." Harry said darkly. "Just not the effect or the parent he was expecting."

They approached the hall and his aunt's voice dropped even lower. "He'll want a meeting with you, probably privately but there's an old rule that says in any formal meeting with a teacher you're entitled to have your head of house with you."

"Formal, not official." Harry noted.

"Exactly. So if he requests a meeting-"

"Come and find you." Harry finished.

"Or get someone else to, if he doesn't give you the chance." She added. Her hand pressed to his back for a moment before they entered the hall where the feast was waiting.


	17. Chapter 17

"Evening." Rose yawned as she plopped in front of the mirror.

"Hey."

Rose eyed him curiously. "Okay, brother-mine. Spill."

"What?"

"What's wrong? You look terrible." She said bluntly. He looked indignant.

"Thanks!"

"Well you do." She shrugged. Harry sighed.

"It's been a bad week." He admitted.

"Oh?"

"Everyone seems to be under the impression that Sirius Black is hiding around every corner so I can barely turn around without being watched by a teacher or a prefect or one of my friends, the dementors are awful and I pass our and feel funny around them and I still can't explain why I hear screaming when no one else can and the entire school thinks me as some fragile little flower because I passed out on the train which means as well as being watched there are those who think it's hilarious to act out me fainting, usually to my face and Remus Lupin is our new DADA teacher!" he exploded.

Rose blinked, then raised an eyebrow. "Feel better now?"

Harry sighed, twisting his lips ruefully. "Yes." He admitted. Rose grinned as she settled herself more comfortably in place.

"Excellent. Now what was that about Remus Lupin?" she questioned.

"He's the new DADA teacher. Aunt Min thinks it's Dumbledore's way of trying to control me- providing a tangible connection to my parents since he doesn't think I've had one."

"That's despicable!" Rose cried angrily. "He's trying to manipulate you through your parents!"

"I know."

"Has he called you in for a meeting yet?" she asked, visibly attempting to calm herself down.

"The first morning back." He nodded. "Luckily, he gave Aunt Min the message to pass onto me. He gave me this big speech about how I needed to tell him where I'd spent the summer because it had put me in danger and that I needed to return to the Dursleys to protect me."

Rose scoffed. "Like that was going to happen."

"I know. When I said I'd been home with my family all summer and that I don't see how as my headmaster he had any right whatsoever to question that, he got very angry and started telling me that my parents would be incredibly disappointed, that I was wasting their sacrifice."

"What?!" Rose exclaimed angrily.

"Aunt Minerva stepped in at that point- she was furious. I don't know what she said to him because she sent me to class first, but he hasn't approached me since so I'm assuming she tore him to pieces." He grinned wryly.

"Good!" she said hotly. "How dare he tell you that?"

Harry grinned at her. "Aw, so you do care."

"I'd slap you if I were there." She said primly. He chuckled, and she smiled. "Has Lupin tried to talk with you?"

"No- he's a good teacher though." Harry admitted. "We tackled boggarts in class."

"What was yours?"

"I don't know- he didn't let me have a go, although I wish he had."

Rose frowned. "Why not?"

"I don't know." He grimaced at the possibilities.

"Well, ask him!" Rose told him. "Just because you don't like him personally doesn't mean you can't appreciate him as a teacher."

"I will." Harry decided. "You should go to sleep now."

"I will. Oh! I forgot- you left your Hogsmeade form here, I sent it with Hedwig this morning." She remembered.

"Thanks- did Uncle Jean sign it?" he wondered, unable to remember whether the signature had been on there or not.

"He did." She confirmed. "You'll have it in the morning."

"Thanks Rose. G'night."

" _Bon nuit._ "

* * *

Rose hobbled over to her desk, grabbing the mirror that was vibrating angrily. "Hi." She greeted through gritted teeth as she limped back to the bathroom.

"Hi." Harry greeted. ""Happy Halloween!"

"Happy Halloween. Are we only talking on special occasions now?"

Harry looked ashamed. "I'm sorry- I was busy. I didn't realise how much time had passed." He paused, noting her expression. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." She gave what she hoped was a convincing smile. "How was your trip to your parent's graves?"

"I'm not sure." He admitted, then frowned as he realised she was in the bathroom. "Do I need to close my eyes?"

"Don't be an idiot." She sighed, swinging her legs over the side of the bath and sitting on the edge, hissing as her feet entered the ice water. Understanding flashed across Harry's face.

"Tough day at ballet, little _soeur_?" He grinned in amusement.

"Shut up." she growled, shifting uncomfortably. "Seriously, are you alright?"

Harry sighed. "I'm... Content, I think."

"Content?"

"Yeah... At least, I feel better than I did." He amended. She smiled more genuinely.

"I'm glad."

"Me too. Do you think it's strange to feel…?" he trailed off.

"What?"

"Well, I know that Susan visits her family's graves on every major occasion- birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries. I don't feel the need to do that… is that strange?" he wondered.

"I don't think so." Rose considered. "Everyone is different, Harry. Susan finds comfort from doing that, whereas you don't. You honour them in different ways. I don't think there's a rulebook for this."

Harry sighed. "I know. Did you know Sirius Black has been sighted?" he changed the subject.

"I know. Aunt Min actually talks to me." She said dryly. "How are you taking it?"

Harry thought back to potions, how Seamus had told him. _"Hey, Harry." he said, leaning over to borrow Harry's brass scales. "Have you heard? Daily Prophet this morning - they reckon Sirius Black's been sighted."_

 _"Where?" said Harry and Ron quickly. On the other side of the table, Malfoy looked up, listening intently._

 _"Not too far from here," said Seamus, who looked excited. "It was a Muggle who saw him. 'Course, she didn't really understand. The Muggles think he's just an ordinary criminal, don't they? So she phoned the telephone hot line. By the time the Ministry of Magic got there, he was gone."_

 _Harry's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, anticipation and nerves running through him. Malfoy_ _eyes were shining and fixed Harry. He leant across the table. "Thinking of trying to catch Black single-handed, Potter?"_

 _"Yeah, that's right," said Harry offhandedly, although his heart rate sped up. Malfoys thin mouth was curving in a mean smile._

 _"Of course, if it was me," he said quietly, "I'd have done something before now. I wouldn't be staying in school like a good boy, I'd be out there looking for him."_

 _Harry smirked. "But that's the beauty of it Malfoy." The boy looked questioningly at him and Harry leant forward, lowering his voice so that Ron couldn't hear him. "I stay in school, the orphaned boy-who-lived, who's tragically being targeted by a mass murderer. And the whole time,_ Black's _coming to_ me _. I don't have to lift a finger. And when he gets here, I'm going to be waiting for him. And I'm going to kill him." Malfoy had gone paler, staring at Harry in surprise as he whispered. "You look down on muggles, but they have some truly marvellous inventions for killing people with. And the best part about it? Who's going to suspect me? The boy-who-lived, murdering with a muggle weapon? How preposterous."_

 _He smirked, aware how sinister it looked and turned back to his cauldron._

"I'm fine- there's plenty of protection." He said vaguely to Rose.

She looked at him in curiosity, but accepted it. "How was Hogsmeade? You went yesterday, right?"

"It was good. It was a little like Diagon Alley, but with more teenage-centric shops." He described. "There's a haunted house and everything."

"And Aunt Min didn't question the signature?"

"I think she wanted to, but Filch and Ron were right there so she couldn't really. Plus I think she felt sorry for me after last week." He recalled.

She frowned. "What happened last week?"

 _Three weeks before_

 _Harry knocked on the door of the defence office, entering when he heard the professor's voice call out. "Harry!" he exclaimed in surprise, turning to see him standing there. "Good morning."_

 _"_ _Good morning professor." Replied Harry politely. "I was wondering if I could ask you a question?"_

 _"_ _Of course."_

 _"You know that day we fought the boggart?"_

 _"Yes?" said Lupin slowly._

 _"Why didn't you let me fight it?" said Harry abruptly._

 _Lupin raised his eyebrows. "I would have thought that was obvious, Harry," he said, sounding surprised._

 _Harry, who had expected Lupin to deny that he'd done it was so surprised he floundered for a moment. "No." he said dryly. "Or I wouldn't be asking."_

 _"_ _Well…" said Lupin, frowning slightly, "I assumed that if the boggart faced you, it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort." Harry blinked. That was the last answer he'd expected, and Lupin had said Voldemort's name. People around Hogwarts tended to steer clear of it. "Clearly, I was wrong," said Lupin, still frowning at Harry. "But I didn't think it a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in the staffroom. I imagined that people would panic."_

 _Harry let out an amused laugh. "Quite possibly." He agreed deprecatingly. "I did think of him at first, but quite frankly the last time I saw him he was sixteen and a ghost, and the time before that he was living in the back of Quirrell's head. A little freaky, but not particularly terrifying." Lupin looked shocked, but Harry didn't notice as he continued. "Then I remembered the dementors."_

 _"I see," said Lupin thoughtfully. " I'm impressed." he smiled slightly at the look of surprise on Harry's face. "That suggests that what you fear most of all is fear. Very wise, Harry."_

 _"_ _I don't think dementors are it either though." Harry told him flatly. The professor looked at him questioningly. "I don't like them, but I certainly don't fear them. I know they can be beaten- to be honest, I pity them."_

 _"_ _Pity?" Lupin sounded amazed._

 _"_ _Yes. They're hated by everyone, they mustn't get fed all that often because there aren't many humans around and they're made to live on a desolate island in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of psychopaths and criminals. It's not a very pleasant existence." He said thoughtfully. Lupin was gaping at him._

 _"_ _I see…" he said faintly. Harry smiled brightly at him._

 _"_ _Thanks professor!"_

 _He turned to go, but Lupin called him back. "Harry!" He looked at him expectantly. "Would you like me to see if I can find another boggart for you to face?" he offered._

 _"_ _I'd like that very much, thank you professor. Could Hermione come as well, she didn't get the chance to face one either?"_

 _"_ _Miss Granger would be most welcome." Lupin nodded, and Harry left._

 _It took two weeks, but eventually Lupin kept him and Hermione back on lesson and told them he'd found another boggart and seven days before Halloween the pair went up to his office, where a trunk sat on the floor. "Now remember, on the off chance Voldemort_ does _appear, don't panic." Lupin ordered once they'd flipped a coin to decide Harry could go first._

 _"_ _He won't." he said confidently. Cautiously, he stepped up to the packing case and Lupin opened it. A shape rolled out of the box, long blonde hair wrapped around a body._

 _Harry stopped breathing. The rolling stopped, and Rose was staring up at him, eyes vacant and colourless lips parted slightly. Her hair was now splayed around her, framing her as her limbs lay contorted on the ground, the pure white ballet clothes she was dressed in crumpled but strangely innocent looking. Harry froze, staring at her, her body limp on the ground, her eyes..._

 _"_ Rosie! _" the cry was ripped from his throat as he collapsed to his knees. Lupin stepped in front of him, yelling 'ridiculus' and forcing the boggart back inside the box but Harry couldn't move, horror turning his body to ice._

 _"_ _Harry! Harry!" Hermione was kneeling next to him, worried as he attempted to catch his breath but only succeeded in gasping more urgently, unable to draw enough air into his lungs._

 _His vision was blurry, the only clear image that of Rose lying motionless on the floor as the edges of his sight began to darken. "Harry!" Lupin's voice was calling to him, but Harry's world went black._

Present day

Rose was deathly pale, staring at him in shock. "Your boggart was me?" she whispered.

Harry nodded, wincing. "Lupin was full of questions, and so was Dumbledore. I got angry in the end and told them that my life was none of their business and to butt out. Hermione was distinctly unimpressed."

"I'll bet…" she said quietly, face contemplative.

"Rosie?" Harry questioned.

"Sorry, I was miles away." She met his eyes with an unreadable expression and Harry sighed.

"You already knew how important you are to me- why is this such a shock?" he questioned. She stared at him.

"Harry, the thought of losing me scares you more than dementors or Voldemort! That's a fairly big thing!" She exclaimed.

"Why, what scares you most?" he asked interestedly. She paused.

"I…"

He smirked. "See."

"Oh, shut up."

* * *

"Dumbledore's trying to block me from coming home for Christmas." Harry said without preamble. Rose blinked.

"Hello to you too. Can he do that?"

Harry shrugged. "Technically no but in reality? He'll try."

"Aunt Min would be furious."

"Yep." Harry agreed. "And he'd fail anyway- I'd just use the cloak to sneak out."

"True." Rose smirked, then sobered. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Harry frowned.

"Because Sirius Black broke into your school two weeks ago?" Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, that."

" _Oh that?_ Harry if I didn't know you better I'd say you weren't taking this seriously." She scowled. He smirked.

"Seriously… Serious, Sirius… get it?"

She stared at him. "Have you hit your head?"

"Yes, actually." He nodded. She was staring at him still, worry lining her face.

" _What_ is _wrong_ with you?" she exclaimed.

There was a long pause. "I hear my parents die when the dementors get close to me." He said quietly.

" _What?_ "

"At the quidditch game the other day, they came onto the field when they weren't supposed to and I hear my mum begging for my life. Begging _him_ to have mercy."

"Oh Harry…"

"Anyway, I passed out and fell off of my broom and ended up in the hospital wing for a while." Then he frowned. "My Nimbus hit the whomping willow- I'll need to buy a new one over Christmas."

Rose was watching him carefully. "We'll go into the city one day- we can shop at the same time." She suggested quietly. Harry smiled tightly.

"Sounds good." They remained in silence for a moment.

"Harry… what do you think of trying to find Sirius Black ourselves?" Rose asked carefully. Harry spluttered.

"What?!"

"I want to talk to him." She admitted. "I know you said it didn't matter that he's my father, but it matters to me. I want to talk to him, to find out why he did what he did."

"Rosie, do you know how dangerous that is?"

She sighed. "Of course I do. But at the risk of being melodramatic, I share his DNA; there is literally a part of him in me. And I need to know what that part is. And you can't tell me you don't have questions for him."

Now it was Harry's turn to sigh. "I do." He acknowledged. "But to find a mass-murderer on our own…"

Rose nibbled her lip, waiting anxiously for him to finish. He looked up at her through the mirror. "We take the guns, and we don't take risks. Daylight only and we leave a note to tell someone where we are." Rose brightened, nodding in agreement. "And we wait until the Christmas holidays." Harry added. "Then we don't miss classes."

"Okay." Rose agreed instantly. Harry rolled his eyes upwards, wondering if they'd both gone insane.

"Anyway, I need to go." He said abruptly. "I have a defence essay on werewolves due in- do you think Snape was trying to tell us something?"

"Harry-!"

"See you soon Rosie."

* * *

For the first time ever, Harry was apprehensive about Christmas. Against all odds, Dumbledore had succeeded for the first time ever in getting the school board to forbid a student from going home, citing the danger of Sirius Black as his reason. Harry was furious, and had ranted and raved at his aunt for an hour when she'd unhappily given him the news. It meant he now had to sneak out of school and go home, and then back in when he and Rose went to find Sirius Black.

Despite his insistences that he had no intention of staying, Ron and Hermione had chosen to remain at school as well to keep him company, firmly under the impression that he wouldn't be able to leave and unwilling to allow them to much knowledge which they could reveal to Dumbledore, Harry found himself unable to tell them how exactly he was going to leave and thus wouldn't be joining them for the holidays.

One positive thing that had come out of the whole experience was that Fred and George had overheard Ginny, of all people, ranting to Neville about how unfair it was that Harry wasn't allowed to go home to his family. The twins had felt so sorry for him that they'd given him the Marauder's Map to cheer him up, neither realising that it had been Harry's father who'd helped create it. This particular heirloom, however, he hadn't told his aunt about, for obvious reasons.

On the day the majority of the student body was due to leave, Harry woke before dawn thanks to his wand vibrating under his pillow. He silently slipped out of bed, dressing in the clothes he'd left beside his bed under a notice-me-not charm and quickly packing a rucksack with the things he had to take home. He then slipped his cloak on and padded downstairs to peer out of the portrait hole. Just as he suspected, Nearly Headless Nick was floating around the corridor outside, conversing with several of the portraits. The fat lady, however, was fast asleep and Harry used the opportunity to slip out, closing the portrait gently behind him and ensuring he didn't get the cloak caught. He crept around the corner, nearly falling over Filch, who was fast asleep with a snoozing Mrs Norris on his lap, leaning back against the wall. Harry carefully tiptoed passed him, and once far enough away he withdrew the map from his pocket. Despite it being the early hours of the morning, the castle seemed busier than usual- there were portraits still awake down every corridor and the ghosts were roaming outside of their preferred areas.

Under the invisibility cloak, however, they were oblivious to Harry passing through as he headed to the passage that led to Honeydukes, keeping his cloak on until he'd emerged out of the other end and snuck through the wards which were easier to bypass when you were already inside them, since they were intent on keeping kids out, mostly. He folded the cloak away as he headed towards the Hogs Head which he knew was left open overnight. A few floo stops and a short walk later, he was home.

On Christmas morning, Harry was woken by a cat pawing his face. He muttered, pushing it away but it was insistent and finally he opened his eyes with a scowl. "Cut it out!" he groped for his glasses, shoving them on and blinked when he recognised the tabby in front of him. " _Tata_?" he questioned. She purred, rubbing her face against his before leaping gracefully off of the bed and looking at him as if to say 'come on then!'. "Let me get dressed." He mumbled and the cat vanished, leaving him to hurriedly pull his clothes on before he rushed down the stairs. "Merry Christmas auntie!"

"Merry Christmas _a leannan._ " She smiled warmly as she looked up from where she was making tea. Rose entered behind him, rubbing her eyes and mumbling a _joyeux noel_ to them both.

"Merry Christmas little sister!" he grinned, rushing over to hug her. After breakfast, they all sat down and opened the presents they'd sent to each other, quickly becoming distracted by a game Minerva had gifted Harry before they could open more- little plastic cars were trapped on a board, and you had to slide a red taxi to the exit without lifting any of the others off. It was engaging, and while they quickly surpassed the easier levels they became stuck on the later ones, giggling as a frustrated Rose simply levitated the taxi out.

"I don't think that's in the rules." Harry pointed out. She shrugged, grinning.

"Magic rules, muggle game?" she shrugged sheepishly.

"Children, I have to go." Minerva interrupted regretfully from where she was sat watching them. Rose pouted.

"Do you have to?"

She inclined her head. "Someone will notice I'm gone if I don't and that's the last thing we need. We're already taking enough of a risk with Harry going missing. I'll be back later."

She kissed each of them and swept out, leaving the formally jovial atmosphere thoroughly dissipated. "Eat first, or presents?" Rose asked after a while.

"Food- I missed breakfast."

She rolled her eyes. "Always thinking with your stomach."

But they sat at the small table where plates of Christmas dinner commandeered from a delighted Missy were sitting under warming charms. The atmosphere lightened with crackers and hats, and once the three were stuffed full they sat down to the rest of their presents. "Look!" Rose giggled, holding up the longest scarf Harry had ever seen.

"Why is it multi-coloured?" he asked blankly.

"Why not?" she wrapped it around her neck and stuck a pose. "What do you think?"

"You look like the doctor." He noted and she let out a peal of laughter.

"Tom Baker watch out!" she tilted her head as he lifted a long, thin package lying underneath the other gifts. "What is that?" she questioned curiously.

"Dunno..." He ripped the parcel open and gasped as a magnificent, gleaming broomstick rolled onto the floor. Rose's eyes widened.

"Who sent you _that?"_

"It wasn't you?"

" _No_!" she crossed to him, kneeling next to him with a frown. "I wouldn't know _what_ I was buying."

"It's a Firebolt. This is the best broom in the world right now. And there's no card." He looked at her grimly, years of defence training screaming at him. "I need to see _tata._ "

"Go later. It's not like you're planning on riding it and it's Christmas." She looked at him beseechingly and he nodded, settling back down.

"Okay." He agreed, putting the broom to the side. "Open that funny shaped one- I'm dying to see what it is."


	18. Chapter 18

**_Thank you to everyone reading! 3 X_**

Harry woke the next morning on the sofa where he'd fallen asleep, achy with the awkward position. Rose was curled into a tight ball on the armchair, dead to the world and on the table in front of him was a scribbled note.

 _Rose and Harry,_

 _I can't leave the other staff without raising suspicion- I'll try to visit soon but you'll have to manage by yourselves for now. I'm sorry. Look after each other, don't do anything stupid and BE SAFE!_

 _Harry, your friends are missing you- you may want to assure them you're well as soon as you can so they can also relay the news to a certain headmaster._

 _I love you both- Merry Christmas._

 _Aunt Minerva._

Harry sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face before he gently woke Rose. She scowled. "M'tired."

"I know, but we have to go if we want to catch the light." he said gently. She nodded, sitting up but then looked at him for a long moment.

"Will you promise me something?"

He nodded. "What?"

"Promise me that we will always spend Christmas together. No matter what else there is, promise me you'll give me Christmas."

Harry looked at her in shock. "What?"

"Promise me."

"I promise, but why would you need me to?" he questioned in bewilderment. Her eyes shone with tears.

"Because summer's ending, _mon frère._ And not everything survives the cold."

She hugged him tightly as confusion washed through him but before he could question her further she had abruptly broken off and rushed upstairs to change. Harry frowned in frustration but put it out of his mind, hurrying off to change himself and then the pair began to arduous journey back to Hogsmeade, keeping their hoods up to avoid detection. Once there, they began to climb away from the populated areas, assuming that Black would want to hide somewhere with few people. Being a wizarding town, there were no roads leading to the village which meant they didn't have far to walk before they were almost completely isolated.

They spent several days camping in the Scottish Highlands, carefully avoiding other people and being especially cautious around wizards who might recognise them. When Rose started to doubt the sensibleness of trekking hopelessly around the countryside, Harry was quick to calm her.

"We have a distinct advantage in that he's looking for me as much as i'm looking for him." He'd pointed out. Rose had grimaced.

"Yes, but if dozens of trained wizards didn't find him, what hope do we have?"

"The possibility that he'll find us."

By the fifth day, however, he was beginning to agree with her. The relatively low-powered warming charms they were using to keep warm weren't attracting any undue attention but were not really enough to stop them both shivering in the freezing Scottish winter.

They were walking over a small ridge in order to circle around a group of ramblers when Rose paused, tilting her head as she looked down in the general direction of Hogsmeade. "What's that?" she asked curiously. Harry followed her gaze.

"The shrieking shack. It's supposed to be haunted."

"Is it?"

"I have no idea."

"Let's go see!"

Harry choked. "What?"

"Come on!" Rose had already set off, flashing a grin over her shoulder. Harry scrambled after her, trying to catch up.

"I thought we were trying to find Sirius Black?" he called.

"We can make a side trip!"

Harry sighed, and resigned himself to annoying a few ghosts for the foreseeable future. They climbed down towards the shack and ducked under the fence, but when they reached it the door was locked. After some searching, Harry found an open window that he carefully boosted Rose through. She landed lightly, rolling easily and coming to open the door.

"It's dusty in here." She commented as he entered, nose wrinkling slightly as he looked around.

"That's an understatement."

They wandered through the house for a while, before suddenly Harry froze. "Rose." He whispered.

"What is it?"

"Look…" he pointed at the floor, and she followed the line of it to see the footprints in the dust. "Someone's here."

Rose frowned. "Who owns this place?" she whispered.

"I don't know; I don't think anyone knows."

They exchanged a long look. "Maybe we should leave…" Harry said, but Rose had a strange look on her face.

"Harry… a haunted house that nobody ever goes into would be a very good place for a fugitive to hide, wouldn't it?"

He paled. "Oh! Yes! Yes it would..."

Simultaneously they both slid their wands out and checked the guns were easily accessible. Harry stepped in front of hers and the pair crept upstairs; Harry could feel his heart thudding in his chest as he glanced in the rooms- in one, a strange mark on the floor caught his eye and he moved forward to look closer, only to hear Rose yelp from another bedroom across the hall.

"Rose? Rosie?!"

He rushed towards the sound. "I'm okay! Sorry- he just surprised me."

"Who?" he demanded as he came to a stop beside her. She nodded towards the bed in front of her, gesturing towards the large dog that was sat staring at them.

"Where did he come from?" questioned Harry in surprise. Rose shrugged.

"He was here when I came in. He must be a stray- he looks in bad condition."

The dog yipped, and Harry could have sworn it looked almost indignant. "Here…" he pointed his wand at him, murmuring a gentle cleaning spell that had the coat looking brighter. Then he paused. "Do you know a detangling spell?"

"I know the one for human hair… I have no idea if it's the same premise or not." She shrugged, but tried it anyway. The dog yelped, but it's fur looked cleaner and Harry grinned, moving forward to pat it on the head.

"There you go, boy. You can have this too." He withdrew the small package of food he had left passed him the meat in it. Rose was petting his head gently as he wolfed it down, tail thumping against the duvet, sending clouds of dust into the air.

Absently, Rosalie watched it dance in the faint light coming through the filthy windows while Harry continued to feed the dog. Then, without warning he felt a hand on his hood yanking him backwards.

He stumbled, kept upright only by Rose continuing to pull him across the room, her wand pointed steadily at the dog on the bed.

"Rosalie! What is wrong?" he snapped, straightening once they were on the other side of the room.

She didn't take her gaze from the dog. "The footprints, Harry."

"What?"

"The footprints! On the floor!" she repeated urgently. Squashing his irritation, Harry looked at the floor. The shoeprints they were following earlier tracked across the dust, leading straight to the bed. For a moment, Harry was puzzled and a little annoyed, but then the dog shifted and realisation set in.

"Oh…" he breathed, whipping his own wand out and pointing it at the canine. "Change back!" he demanded. "Change back to human!"

The mutt shifted slowly, sliding off of the bed so that he vanished from view for a moment, but then a man rose up in his place.

"Sirius Black…"

A mass of hair hung to his elbows, tangled despite the charm that Rose had performed earlier. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin.

"Harry Potter…" he croaked.

Rage ran through Harry, and for a moment he forgot why they were there in the first place. He forgot that this man was Rose's father and that they both wanted to know the answer to questions that no one else could answer, he forgot that there would be consequences to his actions, he just wanted him _dead._ Without knowing what he was doing, he pulled the gun from the holster on his back and pointed it him.

"Harry!" Rosalie hissed.

"He deserves to die!"

"I'm not disputing that! But there are questions only he can answer, remember?"

Harry pressed his lips together, warring with himself over pulling the trigger. It would be so easy, just a simple squeeze and he would be gone, his parents avenged and the fear of the last few months would cease to exist.

But his questions would go unanswered, and he wasn't sure he could come to terms with that. And so he lowered the gun and transferred his wand back from his left hand. The whole time, Black was looking at them confused, not knowing what a gun was.

Rose gestured with her own wand. "Sit on the bed!" she ordered. "And if your hands disappear from sight, prepare to be painfully hexed."

Black slowly did as she said, placing his hands on his lap so they were easily seen.

"Why did you do it?" questioned Harry lowly. "Why did you betray them?"

"Your parents?"

"WHO ELSE?" Harry looked at him furiously.

"Oh Harry…" Black sighed. "There's so much you don't understand…"

"What is there to understand?" he screamed at him. "You were his brother! How could you betray them?!"

Black surged to his feet. "I would never have betrayed James and Lily!" he roared. "I loved them!"

Rose and Harry gaped at him. "You killed them, everyone knows it!" Rose recovered first.

"Yes! Yes I killed them, Merlin forgive me!" he cried. "But I didn't betray them! I would never! I would have died before I betrayed them!"

"He's looney." Rose said flatly to Harry. "This is useless- let's just call the aurors and go home."

But Black, now looking panicked, interrupted them. "No! Listen to me!"

"Why should we?" snapped Harry.

"Because you've got it wrong!" he said urgently. "I wasn't the secret keeper! I'll swear an oath to it! Harry, you have to believe me! I loved your parents, they were my family! I would never have betrayed them!"

"You were the secret keeper! Everyone knew it!" Harry retorted angrily.

"Exactly! Everyone knew it! So no one would ever have suspected that it was really Peter!"

Rose grabbed Harry's wrist to stop him lunging angrily towards the convict. "What are you talking about?"

"We swapped secret keepers so that if Voldemort came after me to find the Potters, I wouldn't be able to tell him anything! Peter Pettigrew was our friend- at least we thought he was! He was so quiet that most people forgot he was there…. Including us." He finished miserably, falling onto the bed and putting his head in his hands. "We knew there was a mole, but we never suspected Peter. We never knew we were handing James and Lily over to Voldemort on a silver platter."

Doubt was beginning to niggle at Harry. "You killed Peter Pettigrew."

"No." Black whispered, shaking his head. "I went to him, that Halloween. But he was missing and I just knew something was wrong. I rushed to Godric's Hollow but… it was already too late. And when Hagrid took you from me and refused to give you back, I decided to go after him. But when I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself - and sped down into the sewer with the other rats..."

"Down the sewers?" Rosalie looked sceptical.

"He was a rat animagus. I'm a dog, as you saw and James was a deer."

Harry was beginning to look baffled. "Wha- why?

"For Moony. That's Remu-"

"Remus Lupin, we know."

"You know… what he is?"

"A werewolf?" Rose checked. Black nodded.

"Full moons were easier if there was someone around to prevent him hurting himself. Werewolves attack humans, but not animals."

"So you became illegal animagus's… animagi… animagus?" Harry stumbled over the word, glancing at Rosalie queryingly but she shrugged. Sirius answered anyway.

"Yes… The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger. He cut it off himself… Oh James, Lily…" he sank his head back into his hands.

"Do you believe him?" mouthed Rose. Harry looked at her for a long moment, and then nodded slowly.

"You were never after me." He murmured. "They thought you were coming for me, but you weren't, were you?"

"Of course not." Sirius looked at him with tired eyes. "I would _never_ harm you."

"You were heard repeating 'he's at Hogwarts'- if not Harry, then who were you speaking off?" Rose asked.

"Wormtail."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I think someone would have noticed if there was a dead man wandering around Hogwarts."

Sirius shook his head. "Not if all anyone saw was a rat."

"He's been living as a rat for twelve years?" Harry gaped. Rose leant against the desk in surprise.

"Is that even possible?"

"Look…" Sirius fumbled inside his robes and held out a scrap of crumpled paper to them. Cautiously, Harry ventured forwards, knowing without looking that Rosalie had her wand trained on the man.

He smoothed it out and peered at it- it was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and on Ron's shoulder was Scabbers.

"How did you get this?" Harry questioned, thunderstruck.

"Fudge." said Black. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page… on this boy's shoulder… I knew him at once… how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts… to where Harry was…"

"Scabbers is Pettigrew…" breathed Harry, then looked repulsed. "He sleeps in Ron's bed! I've slept in the same room as him for over two years!"

Rose made a face, nauseated.

"I'm going to kill him… he deserves to die!" Sirius said vehemently.

"Oh great. So then you'll be sentenced for something you actually did." Rose said cheerfully. "Wonderful- let's go home Harry. He's got it all sorted out."

"Rose." Harry chided. "Sirius, she has a point. They'll still assume you're guilty and just throw you back into Azkaban. Let the dementors have him."

The man was breathing heavily, staring at him. "Just like your mother… she was inherently kind as well… Very well. But how do you intend on proving his guilt."

"You said Madam Bones seemed nice when you met her…" Rose suggested to Harry, who nodded.

"She did. And Aunt Minerva will help. Sirius, have you been staying here?"

"Yes… Moony used to change here…"

"Then don't leave. We'll come back once we know what's going on." Harry instructed. Rose groaned.

" _Mon dieu…_ here we go. This is going to take some explaining…" she muttered.

"If you're going to Hogwarts, there's a passage." Black said hoarsely. "It leads to the whomping Willow… press the knot at the base to stop the branches."

He led them to it, and Harry shot him a small smile. "Thanks."

"Harry- you know what this means?" Black said abruptly. "Turning Pettigrew in?"

"You'll be free." he answered quizzically, glancing at Rose who was waiting patiently in the tunnel.

"Yes." Sirius agreed with a smile. "But I'm also—I don't know if anyone ever told you—I'm your godfather."

"I'm aware." said Harry, not unkindly.

"Well… your parents appointed me your guardian…" said Black stiffly. "If anything happened to them…"

Harry waited, squirming a little inside. Did Black mean what he thought he meant?

"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay where you are." Continued Sirius. "But… well… think about it. Once my name's cleared… if you wanted a… a different home…"

Inwardly, Harry cringed a little. "Sir, you're very kind…" he began gently. "But don't you think you ought to get well yourself first? We can talk about everything else after."

Sirius nodded hesitantly, and Harry smiled warmly at him; Black's gaunt face broke into his own grin, the first true smile Harry had seen upon it. The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger were shining through the starved mask; for a moment, he was recognizable as the man who had laughed in his mother's photos.

He departed without another word, he and Rosalie quickly climbing through the narrow tunnel, emerging at the other end blinking furiously at the sudden light. It was Rose who spotted the knot and hit it, the pair darting through the frozen branches and running up to the castle. When Rose- not knowing where she was going- lagged behind, Harry reached for her and they ran hand-in-hand through the castle.

"Harry!"

Hermione had spotted them when she emerged from a side corridor with her arms laden with books, shock on her face as she shrieked. Harry winced slightly, but didn't stop running.

"Hi Hermione!" he called over his shoulder, tugging Rose around a corridor and ignoring the indignant shouts that followed him.

"This place is huge!" Rosalie complained as they climbed another set of stairs, her cheeks pink as she unwound her scarf with her free hand. Finally, they came to a stop outside of McGonagall's office and Harry knocked frantically, bouncing on his toes and when a few seconds passed without a response, he pounded on it again. Rose grabbed his fist to stop him.

The door was yanked open, an irate and slightly worried Minerva on the other side. She spluttered when she saw Harry, confused but when she caught sight of Rose she paled, fear crossing her face. "Oh thank Merlin." Breathed Harry. "We need your help!"

"What is it, what's wrong?" she questioned urgently.

"Sirius Black is innocent, Peter Pettigrew was the secret keeper." Harry told her quickly.

"Excuse me?!"

"And he's a rat animagus living in the castle." Rose finished just as rapidly.

Minerva gaped at them. "I… what?"

"We're not crazy!" Harry was agitated, his weight shifting constantly and his fingers tapping against his leg.

"Peter Pettigrew is dead!" Minerva recovered, a little concerned for her wards.

"No he isn't!" Harry insisted. "He's Scabbers!"

"What is Scabbers?"

"Ron Weasley's pet rat." Rosalie supplied.

"Children, I don't know where you're getting this from, but Sirius Black is guilty! He was convicted and sent to Azkaban!" Minerva frowned at them both.

Harry shook his head frantically. "But he wasn't! He was never given a trial!"

"It's true Auntie." Rose agreed. "We sent requests in for the transcripts when he first escaped- the clerk replied that there wasn't a trial because everyone knew he was guilty and they were trying to put the war behind them. He was sentenced and convicted by only two men. If he was innocent, it wouldn't have been revealed."

From within her office, there was a voice. "Minerva, Sirius Black aside, if there's a possibility we have a fully grown man living with five thirteen-year-olds, we should investigate."

Harry blinked, peering past Minerva's shoulder and blushing when he realised he must have interrupted a head of house meeting, because Professors Snape, Sprout and Flitwick were all sat inside, the latter having called out. "Sorry professors." He apologised in a mumble.

Minerva had pinched the bridge of her nose. "Almost twenty years and those bloody marauders are still causing havoc…" she muttered to herself. "Right- you two, in here, stay put. Pomona, Filius, if I could ask you to accompany me? And Severus, if you could fetch some veritaserum, just in case."

She ushered Harry and Rosalie into the room and the four teachers swept out, leaving the children to quickly strip off their coats and gloves before settling down to anxiously wait. Harry drummed his fingers against the arm of the chair while Rose paced up and down the room, nervous.

It seemed an eternity before Minerva returned, a stunned rat in a cage being held in front of her. Professors Sprout and Flitwick walking behind her.

"Well?" questioned Harry eagerly.

Minerva none-too-carefully placed the rat on the desk and sank into a chair. "Peter Pettigrew…" she muttered.

"Then it worked? Scabbers is him?" Harry enquired excitedly. Flitwick nodded weakly.

"Unbelievable…"

"What happens now?" asked Rose softly.

"I will contact Amelia Bones." Minerva rubbed her head. "And I suggest, Harry, that you leave and enjoy the rest of your holiday before Dumbledore realised you're in the castle."

"But-!"

"You need to leave." She said firmly, looking up at him. "Because questions are going to be asked about how you knew about Pettigrew and the secret keeper and I suspect you are not going to wish to answer them. Now please, go home."

Harry and Rose exchanged a long look. "Alright." He sighed. "Come on, Rosie."

They gathered their things and left quickly, Harry dragging her through the secret passages until they emerged into the grounds outside.

"What are we going to do about Sirius?" Rose questioned as they climbed over the uneven ground.

"Where do you think we're going?"

They reached the whomping Willow, and began to take it in turns to throw stones and sticks in an effort to hit the knot.

"I meant, is he really going to be content to live in a hovel and hope the ministry doesn't screw up again?" she lobbed a particularly ugly rock, missing the knot by a hairs-width.

Harry paused, slowly lowering the arm that was raised to throw a stone. "No, he won't…" he said thoughtfully.

"Oh no…"

"What?"

"That look on your face. I know that look." Rose watched him warily. "What are you thinking?"

"I'll tell you later…" he flicked his wrist and hit the knot, grinning happily at her. And so they clambered back inside, hurrying through the narrow passage before they emerged at the other end, Harry leaning down to help his sister climb out.

"Well?" Sirius asked eagerly.

"They found Peter Pettigrew." Harry grinned. "They're contacting the DMLE now."

Sirius laughed joyfully. "I'm going to be free, and the rat's going to Azkaban!"

"Aunt Minerva wants Rose and I to go home- will you come?"

"What?" Rose and Sirius both exclaimed at the same time.

Harry shrugged. "You can come in dog form- no one will suspect! You'll be safe and we'll know where you are if the DMLE want to interview you."

"Okay…" Sirius agreed, a small smile on his face. Rose grit her teeth and Harry looked at her pointedly.

"Fine. But you are explaining it to _tante_ Minerva." She hissed at him, furious that he hadn't even asked her before he had offered.

She maintained a silence all the way home, Sirius trotting alongside them and pressing against Harry's legs each time they needed to floo. Finally, they reached the house, but Sirius just looked confused, glancing around before transforming back to human. "There's nothing here…?"

Harry dug into his pocket, coming up with scrap of paper that had their address written on. "Memorise it then give it back." He instructed.

" _Le Place des Anges_..." Sirius began. "That translates to...?"

"Loosely, Angel's place. Literally the place of angels." he confirmed. "Can you see it?"

Sirius looked confused, glancing from her to the forest in front of him. Both kids smirked when they saw his face grow astonished. "That's not a normal charm!" He exclaimed.

"Nope- house elf magic. You can only see it if you know it's there, even if you know the address." Harry explained as Rosalie unlatched the front gate and led them inside.

"Miss Rose! Master Harry!" Missy appeared on front of them, looking furious. "You has been gone for days! Missy was imagining all sort of things! Missy will be telling Mistress Minnie, Missy will!"

"Missy, we're sorry." Soothed Rose.

Harry nodded his agreement. "This is Sirius, he'll be staying with us for a while." He introduced.

Missy squeaked in alarm. "Bad wizard! Bad wizard try to hurt Master Harry!" She flew at him, stopped only by Rosalie catching her quickly.

"Missy! It wasn't him! You've got it wrong! Sirius is Harry's godfather; he was trying to hurt the man who betrayed Harry's birth parents!" She told the house elf quickly, who immediately looked contrite.

"Missy is being sorry!" She cried, looking horrified. "Missy will punish herself!"

She began to scramble away from Rosalie, but she only tightened her grip. "You will not!" She exclaimed. "No punishing, remember? Just go and tell Aunt Minerva that we're here safely, okay?"

"Missy will do that!" The house elf nodded vigorously, scrambling to get away again and is time Rose let her go, the elf popping away in an instant.

"I need a holiday…" she muttered, moving to the kitchen and ignoring the excited voices she could hear from the living room.


	19. Chapter 19

"Harry, Sirius! Dinner!" Rosalie called later that day. They tumbled in.

"You didn't have to cook Rosie." Harry said in surprise.

"I think we owed poor Missy a break." She commented dryly, placing the bowls of steaming soup sat on the table alongside some homemade bread that she couldn't take credit for.

"Thank you!" Sirius told her politely, eyes lighting up at the prospect of a hot meal. They all sat down but he struggled to eat at a mannerly pace, something Rose and Harry ignored. While he ate, Rose studied him covertly- they shared the same blue eyes, she noted, the resemblance even more striking in person than from a picture. And the same long fingers and high, aristocratic cheekbones. There was little doubt how she was related to him.

In the hall, the phone rang and Harry jumped up to answer it, leaving Rose and Sirius alone. "May I ask you a question?" Sirius queried between bites of bread.

" _Oui?_ "

"How did Harry come to be adopted by your... Parents?"

Rose pressed her lips together, weighing up how much to tell him. "Mother." She corrected absently. "She was a friend of Harry's birth parents. She spent several years tracking him down and once she had persuaded his guardians to grant her custody."

"Who were his guardians before?" Questioned Sirius in confusion.

"His biological aunt and uncle- his mother's sister."

"I remember Lily mentioning her sister." He murmured. "She hated magic, and hated Lily. Lil was heartbroken when she refused to come to her wedding."

"Harry's childhood before he was adopted was... not good." Rose settled on. She saw Sirius about to question further and shook her head. "It's not my story to tell. Are you finished? There's more left over."

She stood, spooning more into his bowl as Harry came in. "That was Gideon- he wants to see us before I go back to school."

"Well, we're not doing anything tomorrow." She shrugged, placing her own bowl in the sink before heading to her own room and settling her violin under her chin.

She was worried- Sirius and Harry hadn't realised it, but Peter Pettigrew had been in custody for several hours and there was no news. Something wasn't right.

A knock on the door had her looking up and pausing from her playing. "Come in?"

Harry slipped in. "Are you angry with me?"

Rose sighed, placing her violin in the case and crossing her arms. "I'm not angry, Harry."

"Your face isn't telling me that."

"I'm… I'm upset. And a little annoyed." She conceded.

"Because I invited Sirius?"

"Because you didn't ask me first!" she snapped. "You didn't even think to!"

"I'm sorry-"

"No you're not!" her eyes flashed. " _Mon dieu_ , it's like you don't even remember me unless you need something! I live here too but you didn't even consider that! You're going back to school in a few days and I'm going to be living alone with a man who ten hours ago I thought was a mass murderer! But that hadn't even crossed your mind, had it?"

Harry finally looked a little ashamed. "I am sorry Rosie. You're right- I didn't think. I just… I didn't think you'd mind him being here."

She sighed, and scrubbed her face with her hands. "I don't mind, Harry." She sighed, her voice muffled. "I'm glad we could help him. But I mind that I seem to be invisible to you most of the time."

"You're not invisible Rosie, of course you're not…" he denied but she just shook her head.

"I'm tired. Please go. Make sure the guest room is set up before you go to bed."

He inclined his head and did as she asked; on a whim, after she'd settled into bed she cast a ward over her bedroom door, just in case. She tried to wait up into the night in the hopes of news, but fell asleep on top of her bed covers before an owl arrived. The next morning, she checked with Missy who confirmed that the wards had detected nothing. With a sigh, she scribbled a note and handed it to the elf. "Can you take this to Madame Juliette? And wait for a reply?"

Missy nodded enthusiastically, vanishing with a pop. Swinging one leg, Rosalie bit her lip as she perched on the windowsill and considered what to do next. The Delacours would need to be told, she realised, lest one of them visit unexpectedly and stumble across a strange man living in the house. But the bigger problem was why there had been no news.

"Good morning." Rose turned at the voice in the doorway to see Sirius standing there uncomfortably. She smiled at him.

" _Bonjour,_ " she greeted. "How did you sleep?"

"Very well thank you."

"I'm afraid breakfast is just cereal this morning, with fruit and juice." Rose said as she led him to the kitchen.

"Fresh fruit?" He asked hopefully. She smiled in amusement, nodding. He grinned, bouncing excitedly on his toes and when he spotted the bowl of fruit on the table, his eyes lit up. Rose had to suppress a laugh as she gathered the bowls and spoons, pouring Sirius's for him when it became apparent he wasn't concentrating enough on anything other than the orange in his hand to be able to do it himself.

"You'll ruin the taste of the cereal if you eat it now." She cautioned kindly. He hesitated.

"You're right." He admitted, placing it on the table and beginning to eat the cereal with gusto. As soon as he'd finished he tore into the orange, closing his eyes as he savoured it.

And strangely, it was this that meant Rosalie truly believed the story he'd told- the idea that a mass murderer could be so excited about fresh fruit belied belief and simply didn't make sense in her head. He glanced up at her, and absently she noted that his eyes were the same shade as hers.

"So what happens now?" He asked.

"I'm not entirely sure." She admitted. "I'm worried that there has been no news. Aunt Minerva should have at least sent an owl by now."

"You think something happened?" he asked in alarm.

"I don't know. I'm afraid you're simply going to have to keep a low profile in the meantime. Even in France, your escape was fairly big news and your face plastered was everywhere for a few weeks, though not as much as in England if Harry is describing it accurately."

"I see..."

A pop saw Missy appearing, arms full of brown packages that towered above her head. "Missy!" Rose exclaimed. "You didn't have to bring them all at once!"

"Missy can manage!" The house elf squeaked. An awkward click of her fingers had the packages floating to the table before Missy handed Rose a letter. "From Madame Juliette!"

"Thank you Missy." The elf popped away. "These are for you, by the way."

Sirius blinked. "Me?"

"Yes. We couldn't very well continue to have you look like a tramp, could we? You'd be spotted and handed in faster than you could blink." She slit open the parchment and scanned its contents, smiling briefly before tucking it away. Sirius was still staring at her in surprise. "What? Stop staring at me like a gormless troll and go get yourself cleaned up."

She rose gracefully and left the room, climbing to the attic where Hedwig was sat. "Clever girl." She smiled, sitting at the desk and summoning a quill and parchment.

 _Aunt Minerva,_

 _What's going on?_

 _R x_

It would be meaningless to anyone else reading it but it got the point across. She attached the letter to Hedwig and opened the window for her before taking her schoolbooks out and beginning to attempt to learn the difference between Hidehook the Horrid and Highmick the Horrible.

"Hello? Rosalie?" She heard Sirius calling.

"Up the stairs!" She answered, not raising her head as she carefully drew a timeline out. She heard the ruffle of his robes behind her and turned, smiling. "That looks much better!"

He did, now clean and groomed with robes that actually fit. He grinned. "Thank you. For the robes as well. I'll pay you back..."

"Don't worry, I took it from Harry's account." She assured him cheerily. "He deserves it for laying in while I'm doing all the work." Sirius looked as if he didn't know quite how to reply to this. Rose sniggered at his expression, turning back to her work. "Give me five minutes and I'll be done."

She heard Sirius wander off around the attic but didn't pay him much heed, more concerned with the uprising of 1508. A few minutes ticked past, until she heard Sirius inhale sharply.

"Emmeline is your mother?" He exclaimed.

"What?" She questioned absently, then blinked as his words registered. "Oh, yes. Did Harry not mention?"

"No..." Sirius said faintly. Rose looked at him curiously.

"Is there a problem?"

"No... No. I'm glad she found happiness." He murmured. "Where is she?"

"Hospital." Rose answered softly.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Nobody knows. She's in a coma- the healers and researchers are trying to find out why." She said tightly. Sirius tilted his head at her.

"How long has she been there?" He asked insightfully. Rose placed her pen gently on the desk and swung around to face him.

"A little under two years. Missy lives here full time so we're not alone."

He frowned. "You're looked after by a house elf?"

"We don't need looking after." Rosalie frowned. "And no- Missy's just here all the time. Aunt Minerva is my godmother- she looks after us during the holidays and we have another aunt and uncle who check in as well."

"But while Harry's at Hogwarts, you're alone?"

"I told you- Missy is here." Rose said shortly, swinging around and bending her head over her work again.

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't my place." Sirius said quietly. She sighed, sagging in her chair and turning yet again.

"No, I'm sorry. It's a rather touchy topic- I argue with various people about it several times a month. You weren't to know." She rested her chin on her arms. Sirius watched her with a tilted head.

"Come on!" he announced, surging to his feet and tugging her to hers. Rose looked bewildered.

"What?"

"You need cheering up, so we're making sundaes!"

"It's not even lunch…"

"Come on!"

* * *

By the time Harry was due to go back to school, there had still been no news and Minerva seemed to be avoiding them. Rosalie had even travelled to London in an attempt to hear something, but it was like the events of that day hadn't happened. As far as anyone was concerned, Pettigrew was dead, Sirius Black was the secret keeper and still on the run.

At Hogwarts, Harry searched out his aunt- after being unceremoniously dragged into an empty classroom by Dumbledore and lectured for half an hour about his disappearing act. But he was stunned to discover that while Pettigrew was being transferred to the ministry by aurors for questioning, he'd transformed into a rat and escaped.

Harry was furious, but Sirius was just sad. Rose reported that he'd taken to moping around the house, staring into space and eating very little. Without Pettigrew, the ministry as a whole refused to acknowledge Sirius had been wrongly convicted, and they were back to where they'd been before.

But despite this, life went on and several weeks later, Harry had frantically called Rose late one night. "I did something kinda stupid." he said worriedly as soon as she'd picked up the mirror. She blinked.

"What did you do? And… where are you?"

"Bathroom." Harry shrugged. "Only quiet place with all the restrictions."

Rose stared at him for a long moment, before deciding to move swiftly on. "What did you do?" she repeated.

"I sort of yelled at Lupin." He said sheepishly. "And Snape."

"Well, it isn't ideal but neither is it the end of the world…" she said slowly, puzzled at why he was so concerned.

"No, you don't understand." Harry bit his lip. "It's more complicated than that. You see, I was supposed to be in History of Magic…"

 _Harry kicked at the wall in front of him, scowling fiercely. Despite his best efforts, he'd been unable to find any information on appealing a conviction- nobody was willing to discuss it him, and Harry was beginning to wonder if the truth would ever be revealed. He sighed, slumping onto the floor and pulling a picture from his pocket. He'd found it in the yearbook of his parents- his adoptive mother sat on the lap of Sirius Black, laughing and poking at him over and over again while he attempted to steal her uniform tie from around her neck._

 _Suddenly, footsteps echoed from his left and Harry looked up, wincing. Of all the teachers, it had to be Snape. He approached Harry at a swift walk, his black robes swishing, then stopped in front of him. "So…" he said. There was a look of suppressed triumph about him. "The boy-who-lived thinks he's too good to go to lessons, does he? Come with me, Potter." he ordered. Harry followed him downstairs, all the way to the dungeons and then into Snape's office. "Sit."_

 _Harry did as he was told. Snape, however, remained, standing. "And I don't suppose you would like to tell me why you are not in class?" said Snape. Harry didn't say anything. Snape narrowed his eyes. "Potter, I suggest you begin to talk."_

 _"_ _I don't know, Professor."_

 _"_ _Oh really? So you regularly wander the corridors alone when you shouldn't?" Snape's eyes were boring into Harry's. It was exactly like trying to stare down a hippogriff. Harry tried hard not to blink and didn't say anything. Snape's thin mouth curled into a horrible smile. "So." he said, straightening up again. "Everyone from the Minister of Magic downward has been trying to keep famous Harry Potter safe from Sirius Black. But famous Harry Potter is a law unto himself- Let the ordinary people worry about his safety! Famous Harry Potter goes where he wants to, with no thought for the consequences."_

 _"_ _Sirius is innocent, and Hogwarts is supposed to be safe." Harry pointed out._

 _"_ _Black couldn't be more guilty! And hasn't it been proven that Hogwarts is not completely safe?!" he snapped._

 _"_ _And I suppose that's my fault as well?"_

 _Snape's eyes darkened. "How extraordinarily like your father you are, Potter," he said, his eyes glinting. "He too was exceedingly arrogant. A small amount of talent on the Quidditch field made him think he was a cut above the rest of us too. Strutting around the place with his friends and admirers... The resemblance between you is uncanny."_

 _"My dad didn't strut!" said Harry, before he could stop himself. "And neither do I."_

 _"Your father didn't set much store by rules either," Snape went on, pressing his advantage, his thin face full of malice. "Rules were for lesser mortals, not Quidditch Cup-winners. His head was so swollen-"_

 _"SHUT UP!"_

 _Harry was suddenly on his feet. Rage such as he had not felt since he'd first learnt of Black's betrayal was coursing through him. He didn't care that Snape's face had gone rigid, the black eyes flashing dangerously. "What did you say to me, Potter?"_

 _"I told you to shut up about my dad!" Harry yelled. "I know the truth- He saved your life! You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for my dad!"_

 _Snape's sallow skin had gone the colour of sour milk. "And do you know the circumstances in which your father saved my life?" he whispered. "Or did were the details considered too unpleasant for precious Potter's delicate ears?"_

 _Harry was breathing purposefully and evenly, trying to calm himself before he did something he couldn't take back but Snape just kept going, words slithering from his mouth like poisonous snakes from a nest. "I would hate for you to run away with a false idea of your father, Potter," he said, a terrible grin twisting his face. "Have you been imagining some act of glorious heroism? Then let me correct you- your saintly father and his friends played a highly amusing joke on me that would have resulted in my death if your father hadn't got cold feet at the last moment. There was nothing brave about what he did. He was saving his own skin as much as mine. Had their joke succeeded, he would have been expelled from Hogwarts."_

 _Snape's uneven, yellowish teeth were bared._

 _"_ _Liar!" hissed Harry._

 _"_ _I_ beg _your pardon?!"_

 _"_ _You are a liar." He spat. "I know what happened that night- my father had no secrets from my mother, and she had no secrets from the women she considered sisters. I know that Sirius Black played the practical joke on you to see Remus hurt you while he was changed. I know that my dad found out and risked his own life to save yours, so don't you dare try to sully his memory because you are so pathetic you feel the need to take out a schoolboy's grudge against a child!"_

 _"_ _Why you impertinent-!" he raised his hand as if to strike Harry, who simply glared back at him._

 _"_ _Try it!" he dared. "I'm the boy who lived. You'll be in Azkaban before sunset for abuse of a minor of a noble house."_

 _Snape lowered his arm, trembling in anger. "Turn out your pockets, Potter!" he spat suddenly. "Turn out your pockets, or we go straight to the headmaster! Pull them out, Potter!"_

 _Cold with dread, Harry slowly pulled out the picture and the Marauder's Map. Snap picked up the picture. "And what, Potter, is this?" came the silky question._

 _"_ _A photograph." Harry shrugged._

 _"_ _Why you-!" Snape cut himself off and took a deep breath. "And what, Potter, are you doing with a picture of Sirius Black?"_

 _"_ _It's not." He answered. "Or, well I suppose it is, but it's a picture of my mother most primarily. He just happens to be there."_

 _Snape sneered, and picked up the map. Harry tried with all his might to keep his face impassive. "Spare bit of parchment," he said with a shrug. Snape turned it over, his eyes on Harry._

 _"Surely you don't need such a very old piece of parchment?" he said. "Why don't I just- throw this away?"_

 _His hand moved toward the fire. "No!" Harry cried, before he could catch himself._

 _"So!" said Snape, his long nostrils quivering. "Is this another treasured sentimental item? Or is it- something else? A letter, perhaps, written in invisible ink? A letter, perhaps, from Sirius Black?"_

 _Harry blinked. "What?" he questioned in genuine confusion. Snape's eyes gleamed._

 _"Let me see, let me see..." he muttered, taking out his wand and smoothing the map out on his desk. "Reveal your secret!" he said, touching the wand to the parchment. Nothing happened. Harry clenched his hands to stop them from shaking. "Show yourself!" Snape said, tapping the map sharply. It stayed blank. Harry was taking deep, calming breaths. "Professor Severus Snape, master of this school, commands you to yield the information you conceal!" Snape ordered, hitting the map with his wand._

 _As though an invisible hand were writing upon it, words appeared on the smooth surface of the map. 'Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business.'_

 _Snape froze. Harry stared, dumbstruck, at the message. But the map didn't stop there. More writing was appearing beneath the first. 'Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.'_

 _Harry began to snicker, pressing his hand to his mouth. And there was more... 'Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor.'_

 _Harry shook with laughter, doubling over as he read the final line. 'Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball.'_

 _"So..." said Snape softly. "We'll see about this..."_

 _He strode across to his fire, seized a fistful of glittering powder from a jar on the fireplace, and threw it into the flames. "Lupin!" Snape called into the fire. "I want a word!"_

 _This only caused Harry to laugh harder, clutching his sides as he imagined Lupin's face when he saw this. A large shape had appeared in the fireplace, revolving very fast and seconds later, Professor Lupin was clambering out of it, brushing ash off his shabby robes. "You called, Severus?" he said mildly._

 _"I certainly did," said Snape, his face contorted with fury as he strode back to his desk. "I have just asked Potter to empty his pockets. He was carrying this." Snape pointed at the parchment, on which the words of Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs were still shining. An odd, closed expression appeared on Lupin's face. "Well?" said Snape._

 _Lupin continued to stare at the map. Harry had the impression that Lupin was doing some very quick thinking. "Well?" said Snape again. "This parchment is plainly full of Dark Magic. This is supposed to be your area of expertise, Lupin. Where do you imagine Potter got such a thing?"_

 _Lupin looked up and, by the merest half-glance in Harry's direction, warned him not to interrupt. "Full of Dark Magic?" he repeated mildly. "Do you really think so, Severus? It looks to me as though it is merely a piece of parchment that insults anybody who reads it. Childish, but surely not dangerous? I imagine Harry got it from a joke shop-"_

 _"Indeed?" said Snape. His jaw had gone rigid with anger. "You think a joke shop could supply him with such a thing? You don't think it more likely that he got it directly from the manufacturers?"_

 _Harry was shaking with silent laughter. "Really Severus." Lupin sighed. "It looks like a Zonko product to me- I'll take this back to be sure though, shall I?" He folded the map and tucked it inside his robes. "Harry, come with me, I need a word about my vampire essay- excuse us, Severus-"_

 _Harry didn't dare look at Snape as they left his office. He and Lupin walked all the way back into the entrance hall before Harry broke into chuckles, leaning against the wall. Lupin looked at him disapprovingly._

 _"There is nothing amusing about this, Harry."_

 _"_ _On the contrary." He wheezed. "I find it very amusing. He had no idea you're Moony, did he?"_

 _Lupin paled. "What?"_

 _"_ _Oh calm down professor." Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm not about to tell."_

 _"_ _However you know, I am astounded that you didn't hand this in." Lupin seemed to recover. "Particularly after what happened the last time a student left information about the castle lying around. And I can't let you have it back, Harry."_

 _"_ _Oh, I think you'll find you can." Harry said pleasantly. Lupin stared at him in shock. "After all, Professor, unless you would like to explain to Professor Dumbledore that you've been hiding the fact that Sirius Black is an animagus, you don't really have the grounds to confiscate it, do you?"_

 _He held out his hand expectantly._

 _"I would have thought that what you have heard when the dementors draw near you would have had more of an effect on you, Harry." Lupin said quietly. "Your parents gave their lives to keep you alive, Harry. A poor way to repay them- gambling their sacrifice."_

 _"_ _Don't. You. Dare."_

 _Lupin looked stunned at the venom in Harry's voice. "You have_ no _right to even talk about them. I am the one who hears them die every time a dementor comes near. I am the one who remembers Voldemort laughing as he murdered them. You walked away- you shut yourself away for over a decade. You have no right to preach about them, or about me."_

 _"_ _Your parents were my best friends!" Lupin cried._

 _"_ _Sirius Black was too at one point!" Harry challenged. "So was Emmeline Vance, and yet you abandoned both of them just as you did me!"_

 _"_ _I never abandoned you!"_

 _"_ _You let Dumbledore circumvent my parent's wills to dump me in an abusive and neglectful house! You didn't even fight it! And when Emmeline wrote to you over two dozen times begging you to help her, to help me, you ignored her! You didn't even have the decency to reply! She was all alone for years!" Harry was yelling louder and louder, heartbeat pounding in his ears as he grew angrier than he'd been even with Snape._

 _"_ _I couldn't! Even if I could trust myself around a child, the ministry would never have let me take care of you!" Lupin spun around to face him, eyes flashing._

 _"_ _Oh, who the hell cares if you're a werewolf! You managed seven years at Hogwarts without hurting anyone- don't argue with me, yes you did! You use it as an excuse- it doesn't excuse why you left my pregnant mother to cope alone when her boyfriend got sent to jail!" Harry shouted._

 _Lupin looked confused. "Mother?"_

 _"_ _Bollocks." Muttered Harry._

 _"_ _Emmeline adopted you?" the professor worked out._

 _"_ _Yes! Alone, when she already had a child of her own! The only support she had was from Aunt Minerva and she was working year round here! So what's your excuse,_ Professor? _That you turn furry once a month? That isn't good enough!" Harry snapped. "And what about your excuse for abandoning Sirius? The man who was like your brother? Did you ever even question if he was guilty?"_

 _"_ _Wha-?"_

 _"_ _Because he is! They swapped secret keepers- Pettigrew was the traitor!"_

 _"_ _That's enough!" a voice snapped fiercely from behind them and they both jumped, turning to face Minerva._

 _"_ _Auntie?"_

 _"_ _Heavens Harry, when I said confront him if it would make you feel better I didn't mean in the middle of the entrance hall!" she hissed, ushering them up the stairs and into her office, cutting them off each time one of them attempted to talk._

 _"_ _How long were you there for?" Harry managed to ask. She glared._

 _"_ _Since you shouted to the world that Remus is a werewolf! Good grief, I heard you from the floor above- you realise anyone else could have overheard you as well?" she berated them._

 _"_ _Minerva-" Remus began._

 _"_ _No. You are just as bad- getting into a shouting match with a thirteen year old in public? You're a teacher for merlins' sake! The both of you should be ashamed of yourselves!"_

 _"_ Tata… _"_

 _"_ _No!" she cut him off. "I don't care. Harry, get to lesson. We'll talk tonight. Remus, get to yours, we'll discuss this when neither of us are supposed to be somewhere else."_

 _Neither of them moved._

 _"_ _Now!"_

Present day

Rose looked at Harry with a mixture of exasperation and amusement. "You are so lucky that nobody else overheard you."

"I know." He groaned. "I can't believe I told him about mum- the chance of him not telling Dumbledore is miniscule. And I didn't even get the map back."

"Well, I don't mean to sound blasé, Harry, but there's really not a lot you can about it now." She pointed out gently.

"I know." He sighed again, dropping back against his pillows. "Rosie?"

"Yes?"

"What you said at Christmas about summer and winter…"

Rose exhaled heavily. "Harry, I was just tired. Forget about it."

"But-"

"Forget it." She said firmly. "I need to go- I'm due at ballet."

"Rose!"

She paused in the act of standing up, looking at him enquiringly.

" _Je t'aime._ " He said simply, and for the first time in a long time he watched as a smile light up her face, truly reaching her eyes.

" _Je t'aime aussi, mon frère._ "


	20. Chapter 20

_**So I looked at the stats for this story the other day- there are people from over 70 different countries reading this. That's incredible! And for a girl who can count on one hand the number of times she's left her own country, it's kind of mind-blowing!**_

 _ **Thank you so much! X**_

Rose hummed absently to herself as she let herself into the house, calling out a greeting to Sirius as she did so.

"We're in the kitchen!" came the answer.

"We?" she questioned, toeing her shoes off and placing her violin case to one side. "Harry!" she beamed when she spotted him. "I didn't know you were home today!"

"You forgot? Oh cheers." He hugged her tightly, suppressing a yawn.

"Tired?" Rose smirked.

"A little." He shrugged.

"Well go to bed then." She rolled her eyes.

"I was waiting up for you. Didn't realise quite how long you were going to be." He said meaningfully, glancing at the clock. She gritted her teeth.

"Well Sirius must have told you I'm rarely home before nine." She said tightly, grabbing a glass of water.

"He did. What are you thinking, Rose?"

She frowned at him. "You have no right whatsoever to dictate my schedule, Harry James."

"It's almost ten at night! And you're just coming home!" Harry exclaimed.

"It's none of your business what time I come home!"

"It is when you're my sister!"

Rose slammed the glass onto the table. "That doesn't give you the right to control me! I am not a child! _Mon dieu,_ you think you can come home after nine months and begin giving orders? You 'ave no right!"

"You're being ridiculous!" Harry glared.

" _I_ am being ridiculous? You should look in the mirror, _mon frère,_ then you will see ridiculous!" she snapped, her French accent becoming thicker and thicker.

"You cannot come home at ten o'clock at night!"

"Says who, hm? You are _mon frère, pas mon père._ It is no business of yours! I do not need a babysitter!"

"Well apparently you do! You're certainly acting like a child!"

" _Moi?_ 'ave you looked at yourself lately? You are the one 'aving temper tantrums in the corridors at school _parce que_ you did not like what someone said to you!"

"And you are the one who thinks you can be a dancer instead of getting an actual job!"

"That's enough!" Sirius snapped, stepping between them when he saw Rose visibly recoil. "Harry, go to bed!"

"But-"

"Now!"

Rose stayed silent as Harry stomped upstairs. "You need to eat something, and then off to bed with you as well."

"I'm not hungry." She whispered.

"I don't care. You haven't eaten since breakfast." He pushed on her shoulder to sit her on a chair and went about making her beans on toast, something simple enough he wouldn't mess it up, he thought ruefully.

He'd almost finished when he heard a muffled sound from behind him and turned to see Rose with her face buried in her hands, shoulders shaking. "Rose?" he abandoned the beans and crossed to her, sitting next to her and wrapping an arm around her. "Hey, come on angel, don't cry."

"I can't do this." She wept. "I can't do this. All we do now is argue, or avoid each other. And I don't know how to stop it."

Sirius shushed her gently, embracing her as alarms sounded in his head. What did he know about crying girls?

"It's okay…" he soothed.

" _Mais_ it's not!" she cried. "We used to talk every day- I 'aven't spoken to him since 'e warned me you were coming! He does not talk to me unless 'e needs 'elp or advice! 'im _et_ _moi…_ we don't work without _Maman!_ I am losing 'im! And I cannot stop it!"

"You won't lose him, Rose, you won't. He's your brother."

But this only provoked a fresh wave of tears and Sirius could only hold her as she sobbed, and wonder why no one else in her family had picked up the feelings she'd obviously been keeping bottled up for a long while.

Neither of them saw an angry Harry standing in the hall, having come down for a glass of water, fury crossing his face as he stalked upstairs. It wasn't fair! Sirius was his Godfather- he didn't even know Rose was his daughter so why was she being comforted while he was sent to bed like a child!?

He threw himself on the bed, glaring bitterly at the ceiling. It wasn't fair.

The next day, Rose was gone before dawn and Harry had slipped out of the house to see Gideon at the gym before Sirius could say anything to stop him. The worried man penned a frantic letter to Minerva, not knowing how to deal with the warring teens. He sat drumming his fingers, hoping for a reply and fearing the outcome.

Meanwhile Rose walked into the hospital room that her mother lay in, not pausing when she saw a familiar dark figure leaning over her. " _Bonjour professeur._ "

"Hello brat." He greeted, not looking up. She placed her backpack by the chair and wandered over to him, peeking over at his notes.

"No change… is that good?"

He considered for a moment. "It's certainly not bad."

"It is better than nothing, I suppose." She sat on the chair by the bed, taking Emmeline's hand in her own as Snape frowned, eyes tracking her movements.

"Indeed." He murmured. "You're here early today. It's not dark yet."

"Dance finished early- one of the rats fell and broke her foot so Madame DuBois accompanied her to the hospital." Rose explained, resting her chin on one knee.

"I see." He screwed the lid on a vial, watching her from the corner of his eye. "How was your exam last week?"

She lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. "Not terrible. Tiring though. I'm glad it's the holidays. Were yours any better?"

He sneered. "Dunderheads didn't know the difference between the eye of a newt and eye of a toad."

She snorted. "How could they not tell that?"

"Dunderheads." He repeated in answer. She smiled slightly; it didn't reach her eyes. Snape considered her for a moment, before shrugging and continuing his work. When he turned around again less than ten minutes later, Rose was fast asleep, her head resting on her mother's bed and he breathing slow and even.

After a long moment, Snape transfigured a blanket and laid it over her, frowning down at the sleeping girl. Considering she had a family who claimed to love and care for her, she was so very alone, he thought to himself, sneering as he wondered what kind of people left a child to live alone for months at a time with only a house elf.

But it wasn't his problem, he shrugged. He gathered his things, casting one last look at the girl before he stalked out, angry with himself for getting involved in this at all and at the same knowing his pride wouldn't let him walk away.

* * *

The relationship between Rosalie and Harry continued to be strained long past the end of the Easter holidays and into the summer. Harry had finished his exams with little fanfare, other than Remus Lupin resigning after Minerva had confirmed to him that what Harry had said was true. Consumed with guilt over abandoning the man who had once been his brother, the werewolf had vanished from the school shortly before the end of term, although Harry suspected that the reason Sirius borrowed Hedwig so often was in order to write to him.

Sirius entered the kitchen early in the morning at the beginning of July, surprised to see Rosalie sitting at the table bent over some papers. Generally she'd left the house before he was even awake, off to school or extra lessons or whatever it was she happened to be doing that particular day.

"Good morning." He greeted. She barely glanced up, murmuring an absent hello. "What are you doing?" He questioned as he poured out a cup of coffee for himself.

"Just some forms."

She continued writing in her slanted cursive as he wandered over, peering at the... Application forms?

"What are you doing?" He repeated, frowning now. She sighed.

"I told you- forms. Why all the questions?"

"What are you applying for?"

"A dance school."

Sirius's frown deepened. "Why are you changing schools?"

"What it this, twenty questions?" She scowled at him irritably, beginning to gather the papers up.

"You're being very secretive. It's not like you." He pointed out, his concern mounting.

"How would you know?" She retorted. "You don't know me."

There was a pause. "Perhaps not." He admitted. "But I've been living with you for months, I'd hoped you trusted me."

She was by the doorway now but paused and bit her lip, looking at the floor as if trying to decide something. "I was offered a place at a prestigious dance school. A friend of Madame DuBois was visiting and saw me performing." She admitted.

"Another school in Paris?" Asked Sirius suspiciously.

"No." She looked him straight on, voice flat. "It's not even in France."

He looked incredulous. "You're leaving? And you didn't think to tell anyone?"

"Why do you care so much Sirius?!" She snapped, eyes flashing. "Harry is your godson, _pas moi_!"

"And you think that means I don't care? Of course I do! I don't understand why you would leave when I've heard how hard you fought to stay!"

"I told you I could not do this anymore! Pretending that it doesn't physically 'urt every time I see 'arry? _Je ne suis pas_ that strong!" Rose yelled at him, and he saw her eyes were shining with unshod tears. Well, he thought, she must be upset if she was switching languages without realising it.

"But is leaving really the answer?" He asked, gentling his voice. She pressed her lips together, looking away.

" _Je ne sais pas._ " She admitted. "But I do not what else to do. I do not necessarily want to go, but I cannot stay."

"Harry will be back at Hogwarts soon..."

She scoffed. "And 'ow will that 'elp? We grew up togezzer in this 'ouse- 'e does not 'ave to be 'ere for the memories to 'urt." Tears were streaming down her face as she looked at the papers in her hand. "This way is best." She whispered. Then she looked back at him. "Do not tell, please. This is what I want. 'E will 'ave 'is life, and I will 'ave mine. It is what is best."

And she walked away.

Sirius scrubbed his hands over his face, indecision wracking his body. He didn't want the siblings to be separated- he had not doubt that Rose did not intend to return- but equally he had witnessed the disintegration of the remnants of their relationship and had seen the effect it had had on Rose. How could he ask her to remain in that situation?

He slumped in his seat, and scowled angrily down at the letter on the table from Minerva informing him she was unable to leave Hogwarts for the foreseeable future.

"Merlin Emmeline." he muttered to himself. "How did you end up with two such stubborn children?"

"I don't think she had that much of a choice." A mild voice said from behind him. He glanced up to see Harry in the doorway.

"Did you hear what Rosalie said?" Sirius questioned tiredly. Harry looked confused.

"No?"

"She's leaving, for some dance school abroad." Sirius told him bluntly. Harry gaped at him.

"She wouldn't." he said at last.

"Well she is." His godfather said in frustration. "Harry, I don't understand the relationship between you two, but if you want to stop her you better apologise to her."

"Why am I the one apologising?!" he questioned indignantly.

"Because you're older and supposedly more mature."

Harry felt his emotions ball in his stomach as he pushed away from the table and wandered around the house, unsure what he was actually doing until a voice pierced the haze of his thoughts and he was drawn towards piano.

 _"Daylight_

 _See the dew on the sunflower and the rose that is fading_

 _Roses wither away like the sunflower_

 _I yearn to turn my face to the dawn..."_

Rose sang, not noticing the shadow move in the doorway behind her. Harry was watching her, pain lancing through his chest as he realised that this was the first time he'd heard his sister sing all summer while usually she wouldn't shut up. He moved forward a few steps, listening as her voice rose and fell with the melody of the piano.

Harry moved forward so that he was just behind her but Rose still didn't know he was there, her eyes closed as she lost herself. Another movement caught his eye and he looked around to see Sirius standing in the doorway as well, his face soft as he listened. Their gazes met, and Sirius nodded towards the oblivious girl. Fix this, he mouthed. Harry nodded.

 _"It's so easy to leave me_

 _All alone with the memory_

 _Of my days in the sun_

 _If you touch me you'll understand what happiness is..."_

Harry joined in, leaning over to play the final notes as their voices entwined.

 _"Look, a new day has begun..."_

Rose fell silent, allowing her hands to fall into her lap as Harry joined her on the bench. "Sirius told me you're leaving."

"It's a good school." She murmured in reply.

"And you want to go there?"

She pressed her lips together. "I don't want to be here anymore. There's better than nowhere."

"Roses wither..." Harry murmured.

"What?" She looked at him for the first time, gaze questioning.

"The song. Roses wither. And I didn't even notice." He explained sadly.

"Harry..." She began in a sigh but he shook his head.

"You were right. I took you being here for granted."

"I've never minded that, Harry." She denied. "I minded you forgetting I was here unless you needed something. I minded treating me like you did. I minded you thinking you could dictate my life..."

"I know. And I'm sorry." He said honestly. She looked at him uncertainly. "Rosie... Rose you're my sister. I worry about you."

"And what the hell do you think I do when you're off putting your life in danger at Hogwarts?" She snapped. "I spend months and months wondering whether you're even alive! Because the great Harry Potter can't be bothered to remember to even send an owl telling me otherwise!"

Harry frowned at her. "That's not fair!"

"I-!" She clamped her mouth together, resting her head in her hands for a long moment. "I am not going to fight with you again." She said lowly.

"I'm not trying to argue with you Rosie." He sighed. "I'm trying to apologise to you."

"I don't want your apology." She stood, closing the lid of the piano.

"What do you want?" Harry asked in frustration. She smiled bitterly.

"Isn't that a question?"

Harry looked at her sadly, seeing past the facade she was using to the pained eyes underneath. "Are we really so broken, Rosie?" He whispered. "You're my sister, my very best friend. Are we really so far gone that we can't fix this?"

There was a long silence.

"Maybe it's more a case of not knowing how." she replied in a voice so soft he might have imagined it.

"Maybe." He agreed. "Or maybe we're both just too stubborn to admit we need to try."

Her mouth twisted in a faint smile, eyes meeting his. "Probably."

He reached out, sliding his fingers against hers and holding on so that she couldn't pull away. "I refuse to lose you. We need to fix this."

She swallowed, turning her head to gaze out of the window. "I don't know if we can."


	21. Chapter 21

The next morning, Sirius yawned widely as he came downstairs, bracing himself for the tense silence he was likely to encounter in the kitchen- the same silence that he had sat through every morning Rose and Harry had been in the house.

When he got to the kitchen however, he stopped dead in the doorway instead, stunned at the sight before him. The two children were giggling wildly together, throwing handfuls of flour at the other and decorating the kitchen white. "... Morning?" He said slowly, stepping into the kitchen. What on earth had happened last night?

"Morning!" They chirped together, circling each other with bright grins. Then they froze, eyes locked, conversing silently before, simultaneously, they looked at Sirius.

"Attack!"

He found himself pelted with white powder, yelping as it rained down on him. "Gah!" He flailed around, spotting a carton of eggs on the side and lunging towards it, grabbing it almost desperately. He threw them in rapid succession at the shrieking kids, splattering eggs all over the kitchen until finally he managed to land one on Harry, who yelped as yolk slid down his face. Sirius cackled, flinging another one at Rose. With a giggle, she ducked and Sirius watched in horror as the egg soared behind her, to hit an unamused Minerva, who had just arrived home.

The three froze.

And then Rose sniggered, pressing her hand against her mouth in an attempt to stifle it. But that set Harry off, and two of them shook with silent laughter. Sirius watched them in amusement, his own smile growing into a full grown chuckle. He had no idea what had changed, but he was glad for it. The three broke down into laughter, unable to control themselves as the sternness in Minerva's face softened, a small smile gracing her lips as slowly she reached over to where the other carton of eggs were sat, walked forwards and very deliberately slapped the egg onto the forehead of a stunned Sirius.

The children burst into laughter, turning on each other to throw flour around the room. "I thought you said they were at each other's throats?" Minerva questioned in confusion, her voice a hiss. Sirius looked baffled.

"They were! I don't know what hap-"

He was cut off by an egg smacking into the back of his head. "Alright, that does it! _En gaurde!_ "

Several weeks passed with the four coexisting fairly peacefully, until one afternoon an owl was delivered to Minerva by Missy, who had found him circling the wards. "Dumbledore needs me back at Hogwarts full time." She read from the letter grimly. Rose looked alarmed.

"It's earlier than usual!"

Her aunt looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable. "This year... Is going to be slightly different at Hogwarts." She said secretively.

"I don't like the sound of that." Harry's eyes widened.

"It's nothing to worry about." His aunt soothed. "It shouldn't even involve you, really..."

"Auntie, you remember this is Harry? Half the events of the past three years shouldn't have involved him and yet he still manages to find himself in the middle of them." Rose pointed out. Her aunt looked dismayed.

"Merlin, you're right!" She muttered. "And with Fleur there this year..."

"Fleur?" Questioned Harry.

"Who's Fleur?" Sirius wondered while Minerva bit her lip.

"What I'm about to tell you must not leave this room." She warned them. "It's supposed to be a secret."

"Okay." The teenagers immediately agreed.

"The Triwizard tournament is being held at Hogwarts this year."

They stared at her. "I thought that was banned?" Rose said at last.

"And for fairly good reasons!" Her brother added. Minerva shrugged.

"It's in an effort to promote international relationships and unity." She explained. "There will be an age limit of seventeen though."

Rose was pale though. "Harry, do not go anywhere near this thing!" She wrung her hands worriedly.

"Relax! I'll won't be of age, remember?"

"This is you! You have a remarkable ability to find yourself in the worst trouble!" Rose frowned while Sirius snorted in laughter.

"She does have a point." Minerva said in amusement. "However, I don't believe you need to worry Rose. I've been assured the line is foolproof."

"I hope so." Muttered Rose, shooting a worried glance towards her brother.

They sat together for an early dinner, light chatter drifting between them as they ate in the summer sunshine, until Minerva turned towards Rose as something occurred to her. "Did you contact the British ministry about your exams?" She asked.

Rose nodded. "It took me several hours being sent from department to department, but eventually I managed it. They agreed I could take the exams at the ministry along with the home schooled students."

"What exams?" Harry asked curiously.

"OWLS. I have to register for them this year to confirm I've started the course." She explained.

"Already?" Sirius questioned incredulously. "Aren't you years away from taking them?"

Rose shrugged. "Well, mum always taught Harry and I the same course at the same time and I continued at the same pace so I'll be ready to take them at the same time as Harry."

"And it's only, what, two years early?" Harry mused aloud.

"Exactly." Rose nodded. "And it means I won't be taking muggle and magical exams at the same time... I wasn't looking forward to that." She made a face.

"Two years early...?" Sirius sounded choked, and they glanced at him in concern. He didn't notice however, for he was staring at Rose fixatedly. "How old are you?" He demanded in the same breathless voice. She looked at him, puzzled that he didn't know and shifted nervously, uncertainly glancing at her aunt.

"I turned twelve in May." She answered.

Sirius froze, gaping at her for the longest moment.

"Sirius?" Harry questioned tentatively.

The man surged to his feet, shaking his head wildly. "Excuse me..." He rushed away indoors, leaving the three motionless at the table.

"He didn't know..." Murmured Rose numbly.

"I believe he does now." Her aunt commented mildly.

" _Merde._ " Muttered Harry.

Minerva frowned at him. "Mind your language." She rebuked. She leant back, sighing. "At the risk of sounding callous, I'm afraid there's really nothing we can do about it now, _a leannan._ "

"Pretend we didn't know either?" Rose said hopefully.

"Hasn't hiding the truth caused enough trouble already?" Harry pointed out gently. She inclined her head in acknowledgement. Their aunt rose and began gathering up the plates, calling out for Missy to help her as well and leaving Rosalie and Harry at the empty table.

Sirius stayed in his room, not leaving even for meals and the two teenagers crept around his door, receiving only brief letters from their aunt in England and spending their days with the usual mixture of study and extra lessons. Harry's birthday passed with another party at the performing arts academy, surrounded by muggle friends before he opened the more magical gifts and home. Sirius ventured from his room to wish his godson a happy birthday and to hand him a gift, before he vanished behind the warded door once again and things returned quietly to the new normal, until Harry opened a letter from Ron.

"Rose! Rose!" He called, racing into the cellar where she was dancing.

"What?"

"Mr Weasley got tickets to the World Cup and he invited me along!" He bounced up and down excitedly. Rose looked amused.

"Well, have fun. It's next week, right?"

"Yeah- I'd go straight back to school afterwards. Wanna come? I'm sure we could find another ticket..."

" _Non merci._ I like flying but not that much, and it is the summer performance next week." She reminded him. Harry's smiled dimmed.

"I forgot. Madame DuBois will be furious..."

Rose shrugged, turning back to the barre and settling herself into position. "There is an understudy, and you are not one of the important dancers anyway."

"Oh thanks." He said grumpily.

"Not like that." She shot him a grin over her shoulder. "You are not one who is a main character, or intending to pursue it professionally is what I meant."

"I know." He frowned, hesitating as he wondered whether to talk with her about the other issue on his mind. She seemed to sense it, because she dropped to a standing position and turned to him with a worried look.

"What is it?"

"I had this dream..." Harry began, explaining it to her. "And when I woke up, my scar hurt."

"Your scar?"

He nodded. "It hasn't done that since I faced Voldemort in first year."

Rose bit her lip. "I don't like the sound of that..." She murmured, coming forward and reaching up to gently trace her fingers over his forehead. "It doesn't hurt now?"

"No." Harry shook his head.

"Well, it doesn't look any different." She noted, concern still running through her tone. "Ask Sirius."

"Sirius?"

"Yes, you know, the adult upstairs?" She grabbed his hand and hauled him after her.

"Rosie!" He protested. "I don't want to bother him!"

"He's your godfather, stop worrying."

She halted outside of his door and knocked sharply. "Sirius? Sirius, Harry needs help!" She called.

The door opened. Sirius stood in front of them, a small frown on his face.

"What is it?"

Harry remained silent, until Rosalie nudged him. "Tell him." She encouraged. He sighed but did so, and Sirius grew more and more concerned.

"That's the latest." He murmured to himself.

"The latest what?" Harry questioned.

"Sign." Sirius said. "There have been rumours floating around that have reached even me... This is the latest. And possibly the most worrying." He added as an afterthought.

"Who else knows about them?" Asked Rose.

Sirius looked grim, gesturing for them to follow him up to the study. "Dumbledore at least. Your aunt told me that he's bringing Mad Eye out of retirement to teach DADA."

Harry and Rose exchanged a look. "Mad Eye?"

"Mad Eye Moody. An auror. He was one of the best, although he's a little paranoid now. Believes there are dark wizards around every corner."

"There's a fine line between paranoia and conspiracy." Muttered Rose as Sirius began sifting through books.

"Ha!" He cried suddenly, causing the younger pair to jump. "I knew I'd seen it... Here." He showed them a photo that had been tucked into the pages. "That's him- Alastor Moody. He trained me, and your father Harry."

"Whoa..." Rose breathed as she peeked at the photo.

"He looks terrifying, but he's a good man." Sirius reassured her.

"Hope he's as good as Lupin was." Harry said. "I might have had issues with him personally, but he was a good teacher."

"You had issues with Remus? Why?" Sirius asked in surprise. Harry shrugged.

"He abandoned mum and me after my parents died. He has excuses, but I don't believe they're good enough." He explained coolly, pulling on Rose's arm. "We should go Rose, or we'll be late for Gideon." He ushered her out of the room, ignoring his godfather's questioning gaze.

* * *

The rest of the week passed quickly, and soon Rose and Sirius were hugging Harry goodbye before he left to meet the Weasleys. The family had attempted to learn where he was living by manoeuvring to pick him up- Harry had no doubts that this was at the request of Professor Dumbledore, who had sent multiple owls with tracking charms. Thankfully, his mother had developed protections around Harry when he was a child that meant all fan mail and letters with unwanted additions were directed to the Parisian branch of Gringotts. With Harry gone, Rose and Sirius settled into an uneasy truce, with neither of them mentioning Rose's parentage.

Originally, Rosalie assumed he didn't want a relationship with her but every so often, he would suggest small activities for the pair of them, from going to get ice cream or making dinner together to larger ones such as trips to the zoo. These ground to a halt however, when newspaper Sirius subscribed to in Rose's name arrived.

"Death Eaters at the world cup?" he read incredulously. Rose looked up from her cereal.

"That's where Harry is." She frowned, rising to read it over his shoulder. "Was anyone hurt?"

"I don't know- there are opposing accounts. Can you contact Harry?" he glanced up at her, and she rushed off to fetch the mirror they communicated with. They spent the rest of the day in a state of worry when there was no answer until late into the night, when Sirius had fallen asleep on the sofa as the mirror which hadn't been far from Rose's reach all day finally buzzed into life, prompting her to sigh in relief and to scramble over to it.

"Harry!" She cried. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." He nodded, whispering. "You saw the Prophet?"

" _Oui_." She confirmed. "Sirius and I have been worried- what happened?"

"Honestly? I'm not entirely sure. They say officially it was kids playing pranks."

"But it wasn't." Rose raised an eyebrow.

" _Non._ It was death eaters, I'm sure of it." Harry scowled.

"First your nightmare, then your scar and now this?" Muttered his sister. "They can't be coincidence."

Harry nodded. "I agree. Not that there's much we can do about it."

"Where are you anyway?" Rose asked suddenly, titling her head in confusing at the small background she could see.

"The bathroom at the burrow." He snorted. "Only place to get any privacy... And even then it's not guaranteed."

Rose frowned at him. "Be nice."

"I am! It's a lovely place, just a bit crowded. There're nine of us crammed in here!"

"You live in a boarding school."

"Yes, but it's considerably larger."

"You sound like a snob."

"I do not! I just said I like it, didn't I?"

"No."

"Oh... Well I do." He shrugged. "It's... Homely."

Rose looked amused. "Homely?"

"Yeah." A sound from outside had him looking up in alarm. "I better go." He whispered. "I'll call again once I'm at school. _Au revoir, ma petite soeur._ "

" _Bonsoir,_ brother-dear _._ "

* * *

It was several weeks until Harry could find the privacy to call Rose again, and even then it was from another bathroom late one night.

"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten." She commented good naturedly.

"Sorry. Since Dumbledore announced the triwizard tournament, everyone _ont_ _une araign_ _é_ _e au plafond_ _._ " He grumbled. "All they can talk about is who is going to enter and what the other schools and students are going to be like."

Rose laughed lightly, shifting to lie on her stomach. "Well, you're all kept so isolated up there it's no wonder this is exciting for them."

"It's annoying."

"I can tell. You're complaining in French- that only happens if you're very irritated indeed." She teased. "Did you meet Mad Eye yet?"

"Yep. And I know why they call him mad."

Rose tilted her head. "Oh?"

"He's utterly loopy." Harry said flatly. "Completely _fou_."

"Wonderful." Rose said dryly. "And you say that because...?"

"He taught as about the unforgivables by demonstrating them in class."

Rose stiffened. "What? He can't do that, they're illegal!"

"Apparently, only on human use. He used a spider." Harry said in disgust. "Poor Neville looked like he was going to pass out."

"I'll check he's okay in my next letter to him." Rose murmured. "I can't believe Aunt Min agreed to this."

"I'm not sure she's given much choice." Harry admitted. "The curriculum is decided by the teachers of each subject. Even Dumbledore only has so much say."

"Still." Rose scowled. "That's just wrong. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Harry assured her. She didn't look convinced. "Really." She simply raised an eyebrow at him. He sighed. "Fine- I'm not completely okay, but the nightmares never last for too long and it doesn't affect my school work. Is that satisfactory mother?"

"Don't be like that, I was only worried about you." Rose frowned. He sighed.

"I know, I'm sorry." He apologised. "I'm just stressed and tired. I'm going to go and get some sleep."

She inclined her head, smiling faintly at him. " _Bon nuit, mon frère."_

 _"Bon nuit, petite soeur."_

* * *

Several weeks passed, the only conversations were kept light and other than Harry's hilarious recounting of the reactions of everyone when Fleur came up to him after the arrival of Beuxbatons, there was nothing of importance discussed.

 _Halloween_

"' _Arry?"_

 _Harry turned from the banquet at the sound of his name, and grinned when he saw Fleur standing in front of him. "Fleur!" He stood, hugging her fiercely. "_ Comment ça va? _"_

"Très bien, merci mon cousin." _As he and Fleur continued to talk excitedly in French, Harry could see the people around him gaping at them, whispers running up and down the hall. Even the teachers were watching them covertly, Madame Maxime frowning as she murmured with a grave looking Dumbledore._

 _"Harry!" Hermione interrupted rudely. "Why didn't you tell us you could speak french?_

 _Harry stared at her. "What business is it of yours? Fleur, would you like to eat with us?"_

 _"I would be delighted to." They sat, squeezing up to make space._

 _"Fleur, these are my friends and housemates Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, Lavender, Seamus, Parvati and Dean and of course you know Neville." Harry introduced, remembering that the latter had gotten on well with Fleur when he'd met her in the summer._

 _"_ Oui. _A pleasure to meet you all._ Bonjour, _Neville_."

"Bonjour Fleur. _Did you have any luck with your flowering fern?" Neville smiled. Fleur nodded eagerly._

 _"You were a great help. My sister is looking after it now, and does not believe it is the same plant." She smiled lightly._

 _Harry grinned. "You and plants Neville. You make the rest of us look bad!"_

 _"I could say the same about you and quidditch!" The boy shot back, amusement dancing in his eyes. "While Fleur just makes everyone look bad full stop."_

 _Fleur huffed dramatically while Harry snorted in laughter. "He has a point, miss veela." He smirked. She sniffed primly, fighting to hide her smile._

 _"Quarter veela, I would 'ave you know."_

 _"What's a veela?" Piped up Colin from down the table. Neville began to explain to him, capturing the attention of several other muggleborns around them while Fleur turned to Harry. "_ Comment est Rose? Et... Snuffles? _"_

 _"_ Bien, je pense. Snuffles sait qu'il est le père d'elle. _"_

 _Fleur's eyes widened. "_ Il est sa père? _"_

 _"_ Tu ne savais pas?"

"Non! _" Fleur hissed. "_ Est Rose bien? _"_

 _"_ C'ètait dificile, mais maintenant le problème plùs grand c'est la rèaction de snuffles. _" Harry bit his lip, but before either could talk any further they were interrupted by an irritated voice beside them._

 _"Would you two stop showing off?" Ginny snapped. "We get it, you speak another language. Now would you talk English please?"_

 _Fleur hissed at her, while Harry just scowled. "Do you have a problem with my cousin Ginny?"_

 _"Your cousin?" Hermione questioned haughtily. "How can she be your cousin?"_

 _"Well, when a mummy and a daddy love each other very much-" Harry began in a sickly sweet voice but was cut off by Parvati._

 _"That's really rude 'Mione, Ginny. They have the right to talk in any language they want, and their family is none of your concern!" she scowled, affronted on her friend's behalf._

 _"_ Je l'aime. _" Fleur whispered to Harry. He elbowed her in the ribs._

 _"Harry!" Dean said suddenly. "The professors..."_

 _Harry glanced to the top tab, immediately spotting the problem. His aunt looked to be arguing fiercely with Dumbledore and Madame Maxime, the former standing up and stepping away from his deputy while all of them occasionally looked or_ _gestu_ _red towards Harry._

 _"Uh oh..." Hermione took a deep breath, apprehension written all over her face._

 _"Harry?" Questioned Lavender. 'Why do they look so angry with you?"_

 _"Not entirely sure this time." He replied, narrowing his eyes slightly. "I'm guessing it's because they didn't know about my relationship with Fleur."_

 _"What business is it of theirs? They're just your teachers- your personal life is private." Snorted Seamus._

 _"Yeah well- sometimes they need a reminder." Harry muttered. Fleur placed her hand over his._

 _"Try to keep your temper." She sighed. "We do not need a repeat of 'ze last time someone insulted your_ famille _."_

 _Harry smirked at the memory of the ministry official lying on the ground, moaning and clutching his abdomen desperately. To Fleur, he shrugged. "Their choice, not mine."_

 _She sighed again. "_ Garçons _." She muttered in irritation._

 _By now, Dumbledore was striding toward Harry, the French headmistress close behind him. "Harry my boy!" He greeted jovially. Harry regarded him coolly._

 _"Headmaster."_

 _"Madame Maxime and I were discussing how wonderful it was that you're making overtures to our French friends so early in the year!" Dumbledore beamed. Harry have a slow smirk._

 _"Did you hear that, Fleur_? _I'm making overtures towards you." He shot her a questioning look. "Do you think that's what I'm doing?"_

 _Fleur gave a dainty shrug. "It 'as been many years since your actions 'ave made much sense to me_. _It is why I simply cast ze counter charms afterwards and 'ope_ mon père _can prevent you from going to jail."_

 _"And he's done a wonderful job so far." Harry grinned a lazy, cocky grin. Fleur hummed._

 _"Only because, thankfully, Rose_ _seems to 'ave some manners and is far more diplomatic than you will ever be. If it were just you,_ papa _would 'ave given up a long time ago." she smirked._

 _"Oh please._ Oncle Jean _loves me. I make his life interesting."_

 _"Zat is certainly one word for it." she agreed dryly._

 _"Fleur!" Her headmistress suddenly barked out. "Might I have a word?"_

 _"Of course, Madame." She inclined her head, rising gracefully and kissing Harry's cheek. "Stay out of trouble."_

 _"Must I?"_

 _She rolled her eyes, obediently following her headmistress away from the table while Dumbledore regarded Harry from over the top of his glasses._

 _"Harry, I wonder if I might have a word after the feast?"_

 _"But I'd miss curfew, professor."_

 _The man smiled indulgently. "I will write you a note so you don't detention on your first night."_

 _Harry tilted his head at him. "But professor, isn't that dangerous?" He made a big show of looking puzzled and concerned, spotting his aunt advancing towards them out of the corner of his eye as she noticed the unusual hush that had fallen over the hall. "After all, curfew is in place so we get enough sleep and don't wander around and get hurt when there are no professors or portraits go look after us. A note wouldn't protect me from falling down the stairs in the dark and sustaining a brain injury, would it?"_

 _Dumbledore spluttered, and before he could respond a sharp voice pierced the quiet. "Professor Dumbledore? I believe you were supposed to contact the minister to assure him of our guests' safe arrival, were you not?"_

 _"Yes, quite. Thank you professor McGonagall." He turned and strode out of the hall. Almost imperceptibly, Minerva quirked an eyebrow at Harry who shrugged innocently, a small satisfied smile playing over his lips._

Present Day

Sirius stared at Harry over the mirror as he recounted his tale. "Dumbledore lets you talk to him like that?"

"I think he's so surprised that I'm not under his control he forgets to tell me off." Harry shrugged. Rose grinned, leaning against Sirius's shoulder slightly.

"Not to mention that he's frustrated he can't work out who adopted you and why his wards didn't trip when they did."

"True." Harry smiled at his sister and godfather, happy that they were growing closer and obstinately ignoring the jealousy that panged through him. "I'm not sure I can be home for Christmas this year."

"Why not?" Rose frowned, straightening.

"Aunt Min warned me that there's some traditional ball."

"And they can't hold it before Christmas, or for New Years?"

Harry shrugged. "I said that- she's going to bring it up, especially for the muggleborns. But who knows. I'll try and get out of it."

"Last year was bad enough- you have to make it this year." Rose pouted.

"Take it up with aunt Min!" Harry protested.

"I'll talk to her as well." Sirius promised. "Now bed, both of you. It's late."

Harry was stifling his yawns and nodded without protest. "Alright. Good night."

"'Night pup."

" _Bon nuit._ "

* * *

It was some weeks later when Rose groaned as the fierce buzzing in her room dragged her out of sleep, forcing her to stumble out of bed to stop it.

" _Il est une heure du matin!_ " She snapped angrily, glancing at the clock.

There was a long pause. " _Desolé,_ Rosie."

Rose peered at him as she lit the candle in her room. "What is it, what's wrong?"

"I was chosen as a champion."

Rose sat, stunned. " _Fils de putain!_ " She swore. " _Merde!_ I thought there was an age line? _Salauds_!"

"Rose!" Harry scolded, a little shocked at her language. As he watched, she jumped up from where she was sitting and left her room. He could hear her bare feet thumping softly as she ran down the darkened hallway to Sirius's room, knocking frantically.

"Sirius? Sirius wake up!" She let herself inside, saw the man was stirring blearily.

"What is it, what's wrong?"

"It's Harry. He was entered into the Triwizard tournament as a competitor." She explained grimly, crossing the room to sit on the edge of his bed as he bolted upright.

"WHAT?"

"It really wasn't my idea." Harry said sourly.

"What happened?" Sirius quizzed worriedly. Harry quickly explained the events, detailing the outrage from his protective aunt and cousin against the anger of the others, up to when he'd been told he had to compete or lose his magic.

"Harry!" Rose shot upright. "Did you ever actually agree?"

"What?"

"Did you ever actually agree to compete?" she questioned urgently.

"I… no. No, it was just sort of decided that I would have to, I wasn't asked."

She and Sirius exchanged a look. "Then it's possible the contract is voided…" she mused quietly.

He looked eager. "Really?"

"But it might not be, and there's no way to check!" Sirius interjected, glaring at the blonde. "By the time we knew it wasn't, Harry would have already lost his magic!"

"And have been entered into a tournament he could die in! He might not have to compete!"

"And you're willing to risk his life if he does?"

"HEY!" Harry interrupted with a frown. "This is my life! One of you tell me what's going on!"

"Magic contracts work with intent. You never intended to enter the tournament so theoretically it shouldn't have been possible for you to have been." Rose explained.

"But it's only theoretical." Sirius continued. "You could refuse to compete, and lose your magic or even your life if we're wrong."

"Aunt Minerva said it looked like my name had been ripped off the top of an essay I'd written and so shouldn't count, but Mr Crouch said that the rules are people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament so it didn't matter where the name came from." Harry recalled.

Sirius jolted. "Rose, do you have the rules?"

"Auntie gave me a copy."

"Run and get them would you?"

She handed the mirror to him and scampered off. "Are you alright Harry?" Sirius asked him. He shrugged.

"Ron hates me." He said morosely. "Gryffindor thinks I'm a hero but everyone else thinks I'm a cheat and a liar."

"Well, from what Rose has told me Ron's a bit of an idiot anyway." Sirius attempted to make him smile. "And I'm afraid I can't do much about that. For the other thing, however, I think I have a fairly simple idea on how to solve the worst of it."

"Oh?"

His godfather nodded eagerly. "Everyone still eats breakfast together, right?"

"Yes...?"

"Excellent. At breakfast tomorrow, you're going to stand up on the table, cast a sonorus on yourself and raise your wand on the air. You're going to tell people you have an announcement so they know to listen to you. And then you're going to swear on your magic and life that you didn't enter yourself into the tournament nor ask anybody else to do so for you." Sirius looked satisfied with himself.

"That probably not a bad idea." Rose agreed as she reentered in time to hear his plan. "I got the book."

Sirius flipped it open, scanning the pages eagerly. Rose and Harry watched him in silent, until suddenly a grin broke over his face and he yelled 'aha!' while jabbing his finger at the page. "Er... Sirius?" Harry questioned tentatively.

"The wording is different!" he said excitedly. "Listen- in order to enter the revered tournament, a prospective competitor must submit their name- written clearly and by their own hand- into the Goblet of Fire, which will be placed in a public area accessible to students from all competing institutions. This submission activates the magical contract which the champions are bound by; there is no breaking this contact without the most severe of repercussions. It is these submitted names from which the Goblet will the champion for each institution."

"Okay, so…?" Harry questioned, confused about why he was so excited.

"So you didn't place your name in the goblet, and when you wrote it you weren't intending for it to be submitted." Rose realised. "I was right- there may not be a contract."

"It also says that teachers aren't allowed to help students with the tournament, but it says nothing about Godfathers and sisters. Nor, in fact, about other students." Sirius explained, smiling broadly.

"Harry, you should forge an alliance with the other competitors in case you do actually have to compete." Rose suggested. "You have been cheated into entering, and they have been cheated out of a fair competition. Get Fleur on board- I doubt she'll say no- then Cedric and then Krum."

Harry grinned. "Beat the system." He murmured.

"Exactly." Sirius agreed. "And we'll get Minerva to ask Barty about our theory- you may not have to compete at all!"


	22. Chapter 22

**_Thank you so much to everyone reading- you're wonderful! X_**

Rosalie hurried through the streets of Hogsmeade, a hooded cloak drawn over her face and Sirius trotting at her side in dog form. He'd apparated them over from France, a feat that was more difficult than it looked given the extended margin for error.

"Rosie!" a voice called from ahead, and she smiled when she saw Harry waving at her, a hood obscuring his face as he rushed forward and engulfed her in a hug.

" _Bonjour, mon frère._ " She greeted warmly, kissing his cheek. Beside them, Sirius barked and wagged his tail happily as Harry knelt down to pet him.

"I'm really glad to see you both." He admitted, then glanced behind him and motioned another hooded figure forward. "This is Hermione Granger. 'Mione, my sister Rosalie and this is Snuffles." He introduced.

" _Bonjour,_ Hermione." Rose smiled, holding out her hand. "I have heard a lot about you."

The brunette girl smiled hesitantly. "Harry speaks very highly of you too." She looked down to grin at Sirius. "Hello Snuffles."

He barked a greeting. "Harry, what is going on?" Rose asked. "Why the cloak and… knife?"

"Cloak and dagger." He corrected, amusement dancing through his tone. "And it's because of Rita Skeeter."

He began walking as the girls fell into step either side of him and Sirius bounded on ahead, chasing birds. "We saw the article. She is a very convincing writer. I'm sorry Harry." Rose said sympathetically.

"Horrid woman." Muttered Hermione.

"All because I wouldn't give her an interview." Harry rolled his eyes. His sister frowned.

"I don't understand- the Prophet said that you had."

Harry stopped and stared at her. "You really think I'd give an interview?"

"No." she looked at him witheringly. "Not willingly. But I wondered if the organisers of the tournament had forced you."

Harry snorted, continuing down the road. "They're trying to force me into competing in this stupid thing- I'd like to see them force me to do anything else. No, Skeeter asked me for an interview and I refused without my legal guardian there. She was furious but Dumbledore actually came in useful for once and stepped in. She printed a completely fictitious article."

"She sounds lovely." Rose wrinkled her nose.

"In real life she's even worse than she sounds." Hermione added.

"I don't know what I can do about her though." Harry said in frustration.

"Really Harry." Rose sighed. "Talk to our lawyers. It is hardly legal, what she's doing. They can help."

"Really? I'll owl them when we get back." He decided, hoping they could stop the articles and Skeeter altogether.

"How is Fleur? I know _tante_ _Appolline_ and _oncle Jean_ are worried about her being in a different country."

"I think she's adjusting." Harry answered. "She and the other contestants agreed with us about beating the system. We're all going to work together, although Krum took a bit of persuading."

"You were expecting that though." Rose shrugged. "As far as they were concerned, you had cheated your way into the competition."

"Not after I stood up and made a magical vow." He grinned.

Hermione sniffed. "Which was incredibly stupid. If you'd worded it wrong-"

"But I didn't." he reminded her. "And besides, Dumbledore's face was worth it." He shot a mischievous grin to Rose, who looked amused.

"I can imagine. I doubt that Aunt Minerva was overly happy either." She murmured. "When is the first task?"

"A couple of weeks. And I still have no idea what I might have to face. None of us do." He looked grim.

"Well, Padfoot and I can help, and I'm sure Hermione will as well but we are not supposed to watch- only the schools are permitted to be there until the third task." Rose told him worriedly. Harry frowned.

" _Tata_ didn't mention that."

" _Je sais_ , she only told us yesterday."

Then Harry paused. "Wait… _supposed_ to watch?" he said suspiciously.

Rose smiled angelically. "Who's going to notice an extra teenage girl and a dog? They will all assume that we are from another school. We are going to sneak in through the shrieking shack. Aunt Min suggested it."

"Professor McGonagall would never advocate breaking school rules!" Hermione cried hotly. Rose raised an eyebrow.

"You're talking about someone who lied to Dumbledore and defied his orders for years about Harry's whereabouts."

Hermione blinked in surprise.

"You do not know her as well as you think." Rose made a conscious effort to gentle her tone, realising that perhaps she was being too harsh with the bookworm. "Professor McGonagall the professor is quite different from Aunt Minerva, I assure you. And the latter will always supersede the former."

Hermione looked a little shocked. "Be careful Rosie." Harry said quietly. "If Dumbledore catches you, it won't take much for him to work everything out. I'm a little surprised he hasn't already actually."

"So am I." she sighed. By now, they were towards the back of town. "Oh, and I spoke to _Proffeseur LuRone,_ he is willing to enter you for the exams this year."

Harry gave a small smile. "Thanks Rosie. I'll start studying."

"What exams?" asked Hermione curiously.

"I'm taking muggle exams as well as magical. I didn't want to do both the same year so I'm doing my muggle ones this year."

The alley they'd arrived in was deserted so Sirius trotted into the shadows and transformed. "You be careful pup." He said roughly, reaching out to draw Harry into a proper hug. The boy nodded.

"I will." He promised.

Hermione spluttered, paling. "S… Sirius Black!"

"Hermione, it's okay! It's not what you think!" Harry said hurriedly. "I'll explain later."

Rose hugged him tightly and he felt sadness twist within him as his godfather and sister prepared to leave, Rose murmuring to Hermione too quietly for Harry to hear before the brunette nodded and Rose stepped back, joining Sirius in the shadows.

"Say hi to Missy for me." Harry added as Rose took Sirius's arm and blew them a kiss.

"Stay out of trouble!" she called, just before there was a crack and they vanished, leaving Harry and Hermione alone on the empty street.

He sighed heavily, shoving his hands into his pockets and glaring at the floor. Hermione slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, resting her head on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He smiled at her weakly, beginning to walk back up to the school. "Thanks."

She reached over and squeezed his hand gently. "So, about Sirius Black…?"

* * *

Rose wrapped her cloak tighter around her as she climbed carefully out of the whomping willow, darting through the branches as quickly as she could. Sirius was in dog form, trotting close to her heels as she hurried across the grounds, nudging her to change directions when she started to go wrong. Finally, she spotted the tall figure of her aunt walking down the stone steps with the slightly smaller figure of her brother, resting her hand on his shoulder as they reached the bottom.

"Now, don't panic," she said, "just keep a cool head- we've got wizards standing by to control the situation if it gets out of hand. The main thing is just to do your best, and nobody will think any the worse of you _a leannan._ Are you all right?"

"Yes." Rose heard Harry say unsteadily. "Yes, I'm fine."

" _'Arry_!" She called. He turned, relief crossing his face as he rushed to embrace her.

"I'm so glad you're here." He whispered, clutching her tightly. "Hey Sirius."

A bark echoed out, Sirius's tail wagging slowly as his ears drooped. Rose smiled weakly.

"You'll be fine. Dragons, piece of cake, no?" She joked. Harry attempted to grin, although it looked more like a grimace. Their aunt led them towards the place where the dragons were, around the edge of the forest, but when they approached the clump of trees behind which the enclosure would be clearly visible, Harry saw that a tent had been erected, its entrance facing them, screening the dragons from view.

"You're to go in here with the other champions." said his aunt in a rather shaky sort of voice. "And then wait for your turn. Mr. Bagman is in there- he'll be telling you the... the procedure. Once he's gone, duck out to the medical tent and we'll be waiting. "

Harry nodded. "Okay." He pressed a kiss to her cheek and then to Rose's, ruffling Snuffles' ears and taking a deep breath.

"Good luck." His aunt murmured.

" _Bon chance._ " His sister.

"Thanks," said Harry, in a flat, distant voice. He went inside, and Minerva lead Rosalie and Sirius to the medical tent.

"We'll still be able to see the arena from here." She led them through, greeting Poppy absently on the way. Rose crouched next to Sirius, wrapping an arm around his neck. "I'm sure this will work. It has to." She murmured.

She felt a lick snake up her neck and wrinkled her nose. "Ew! That's gross! Don't!"

"Rosalie? Snuffles?"

She straightened to face Hermione, smiling at her. " _Bonjour Hermione._ " She greeted. Before anything else could be said, the crowd's noise rocketed and Rose felt her stomach flip as she spun around to face the arena. " _Merde..._ " She whispered, barely breathing. A boy Hermione identified as Cedric Diggory was first, and he'd transfigured a rock into a dog. Rose winced as he got burnt, although he got the egg. In the middle of his task, Harry dashed up to them.

"How's he doing?"

"Seems well so far." Hermione chewed her lip, eyes fixed on the Hufflepuff.

Then it was Fleur's turn- she used a charm, putting her dragon into a trance and dashing across the arena to get the egg but Rose yelped when her skirt caught fire. She and Hermione both scowled as Krum hit his with a spell in the eye, sympathy washing though then for the innocent animal. He finished, and nerves swam through Harry as Minerva ushered him into the tent.

Madam Pomphrey directed him into a cubicle as outside, the whistle blew. Sirius jumped onto the bed next to him, pressing close while a strange silence fell over the small group.

"Mr Potter? Mr Potter?" Bagman's voice came from outside. Madam Pomphrey was silently murmuring spells, monitoring him the whole time. "Great Scott, is he alright? Someone look in the tent, would you?" Bagman continued.

Fleur appeared, looking apprehensive and glanced at him. "I feel fine." Harry assured her in a whisper. She reached out and grasped Rose's hand tightly, the pair clutching at each other as the only other sound was the ragged breathing of everyone in there.

"He's what?" Bagman's incredulous voice came through again. "He's not in there? Well, where is he? Ladies and Gentlemen, it looks like Mr Potter was perfectly serious when he said he didn't want to compete! He's disappeared! Harry Potter is refusing to compete in the Triwizard Tournament!"

That was what they'd been waiting for- six pairs of eyes snapped to Harry.

"I don't feel any different…" he withdrew his wand, and cast a simple lumos charm.

When a bright light shone through the tent, several sighs of relief went up. "Poppy?" Minerva glanced at her hopefully. The matron was smiling.

"There are no indications that he's anything less than healthy."

Now there were smiles all round, as outside the crowd grew louder, shouts echoing even to the tent they were in. Some were clapping, Harry noted as he listened, and cheering for him while some were calling him a coward.

Ah well, you couldn't win them all.

But then he frowned, because somebody was screaming. Rosalie had heard it too- she turned her head towards the noise, brow furrowing.

"Do you hear that?"

"Someone's in pain." Harry swung off the bed, jogging out of the tent closely followed by the group behind him. By now, there were panicked shouts joining the shrieks and the entire stadium seemed to be in chaos.

"There!" Hermione pointed and sure enough, by the exit of the arena and through the throng of people they could see a figure laying on the ground motionless.

Madam Pomphrey began to push through the crowd. "Let me through! Move!"

Harry wriggled through the crowd behind her, stunned to see that it was Moody. Madam Pomphrey dropped to her knees, wand already in her hand. "Alastor? Alastor, can you hear me?"

"Who's Alastor?" the man mumbled, grimacing. Poppy blinked.

"You're Alastor!"

"I am?"

Harry crouched down beside him. "Professor, are you alright?"

The man looked a little dazed. "I… I'm fine." When Madam Pomphrey reached out, he shrugged her off angrily. "I'm fine woman! Stop fussing!"

Awkwardly, he clambered to his feet, brushing off any attempts to help him.

"Alastor-" Madam Pomphrey began again, but he scowled at her.

"Stop your fussing! I'm not one of your students!" he stalked off through the crowd, limping more pronouncedly than usual and seemingly oblivious to the stares and whispers he was receiving.

"What was that about?" questioned Hermione, a little shocked.

"MR POTTER! MR POTTER!" Bagman was stumbling over to them, his sonorous still in place. "You have to compete! You'll lose your magic!"

"Will I?" Harry asked pleasantly. This seemed to bring him up short.

"Well… yes!"

"Then why haven't I already?"

The man stuttered a little. "I- what?"

"You already declared that I'm refusing to compete and that I missed the task. Therefore, magic should have recognised this and the contract broken, resulting in the loss of my magic and Merlin knows what else. So why hasn't it?"

By now, they'd attracted quite the crowd- a seventh-year Ravenclaw had cast a listening charm so that everyone could hear what was being said. There were several people nodding in agreement with Harry's claim- a small group at the back even had a copy of the rules open and were flipping through it.

"Well I… I…" Bagman blustered, glancing around as if hoping someone would help him.

"I don't have to compete, because I didn't enter my name. When I wrote my name, I never intended for it be used for anything other than to identify the essay it was on as mine. I never put my name in the goblet; I am not a champion and I do not have to compete!"

With that, he spun on his heel and stalked away, Hermione, Rose and Sirius hot on his heels. Behind him, he heard an amused Minerva telling Bagman that he was right, and suggesting he simply conclude the task.

Harry couldn't help but grin. They'd done it.

* * *

"Harry?"

He looked up from where he was sat outside the medical tent, Hermione and Rose on either side while Snuffles was lying on the floor. Ron stood in front of them awkwardly. He didn't miss Hermione stiffening or Rose shifting so that she could quickly move between them if necessary. "What do you want?" he asked coolly.

Ron was very white and staring at Harry as though he were a ghost. "Harry…" he said, very seriously, "whoever put your name in that goblet - I - I reckon they're trying to do you in!"

"Caught on, have you?" said Harry coldly. "Took you long enough."

"I-" Ron stuttered.

"' _Arry,_ they are announcing the winner." Rose told him, watching the stadium. Harry looked up and sighed.

"Let's go and support Fleur then."

He wrapped an arm around Rose, holding out his hand for Hermione and calling for a growling Snuffles as they walked out and left a spluttering Ron behind.

Walking towards the stands, it had been a mere matter of seconds before Dumbledore could join them that Hermione had spotted him and frantically elbowed Rose hard in the ribs, hissing a warning to her. Rose had quickly grabbed Sirius and slipped away through the people milling around, still close enough to hear the headmaster enquire "who was that young lady?"

"What young lady, sir?" Harry had sounded puzzled. "Oh, there's Fleur! Come on Hermione!"

Two sets of footsteps had rushed away, and Rose had hurried deeper into the crowds to disappear. A tickling on the back of her neck had her glancing covertly around, easily spotting the old man standing with a frown on his face as he scanned the people. As quickly as they could, she and Sirius rushed back to the shack and he had apparated them home, sending a congratulations to Fleur by owl for her performance in the task.

"Did I tell you, Aunt Min persuaded Dumbledore to move that stupid ball forward to the day before Christmas eve so we can come home for Christmas." Harry remembered brightly a few weeks later. "Apparently, all three champions intending to miss the ball made them change their minds. They're announcing it tomorrow."

Rose beamed. "That's brilliant! Who are you going to ask?"

"Fleur. Krum is going to ask Hermione- I don't know if she'll say yes- and Cedric is going to ask Hannah Abbot."

"That's nice. What about Susan though?"

"Neville."

Rose grinned happily. " _C'est magnifique_. And how is Dobby?" she asked, remembering his description of the elf's return from their last conversation.

"Still trying to sober up Winky." He sighed. Rose looked sympathetic.

"Poor thing. I'll ask Missy if she has any ideas."

"Thanks. I've got to run- I'm due in transfiguration. _Au revoir._ "

" _Au revoir._ "

The weeks until he could go home dragged by for Harry, who only got through the ball by listening in amusement as Fleur kept up a running commentary in rapid French on what was going on around them and then proceeding to dance as outrageously as possible with as many people as possible, including his aunt, Professor Sprout and Neville, who was laughing so hard he was almost bent double as Harry spun him around.

But eventually it was over and the next day a lot of sleepy looking students boarded the Express home for Christmas.

"Harry!" cried Rose, flying across the platform to hug him. Sirius was once again in dog form, barking happily when he spotted his godson.

"Hi!" he spun his sister around to her outraged giggles before being smothered in licks from Sirius.

"Hi Hermione! Have a good Christmas!" Rose called to his friend, waving cheerily as she pulled the dog to four paws.

"You too!"

"Rose, Harry, are you coming to ours for New Years?" Neville dashed up to them.

"Yeah- we'll come at the usual time?" Harry checked, and when he nodded they all bade each other merry Christmas and the boy rushed off to his grandmother.

" _Harry? Il y a des garçons, qui tu regardent._ " Rose murmured to him. Harry glanced behind him to see who she meant, easily spotting a sullen looking Ron standing with Percy, Fred and George, all with curious gazes fixed on Rose.

" _Non ma soeur, ils_ tu _regardent._ " He whispered to her. She stiffened.

" _Qui sont-ils_?"

" _Les Weasleys."_ He muttered. "Sirius? _Allons-y."_

" _Je ne pense que la fille moi aime._ " She observed as they slipped off of the platform. She was right, Harry saw, Ginny was glaring at her from her place beside her mother, her mouth twisted in animosity. " _Qu'est sa problème_?"

"God knows." Muttered Harry as they emerged out of the barrier and hurried towards an uncrowded part of the station here Sirius transformed into his human form and apparated them both home.

Harry groaned as they landed, unable to catch his breath for the longest moment.

"You and Ron are no better then?" Rose asked when they'd recovered and walked up the front garden.

Harry shook his head. "After the first task he hasn't tried to apologise again and I'm not about to approach him."

"Mature." Said Sirius dryly. Harry shrugged.

"His decision. He's turned half the school against him- only he can fix it." He said hotly. "Now come on- are we getting ready to go to the Delacours or not?"


	23. Chapter 23

**_Thank you so much for reading! X_**

Harry was scowling furiously as he barrelled through the empty corridors between the dance studios he knew his sister was in. It was Christmas Eve, and they had been due at the Delacours an hour before. Rosalie had promised she would not be gone long, but that she needed to practise for dance before they could leave for their family's home. The rooms were soundproofed, leaving him unable to even follow the sound of music to find Rosalie.

Finally, he noticed a light in the studio at the far end of the building, one of the older ones that tended to echo and for that reason was avoided by most of the instructors unless absolutely necessary. He peeked in, spotting his sister twirling effortlessly before she leapt high into the air and spun at the same time, landing gracefully and extending her leg up behind her. He waited until he knew she wouldn't be injured if he interrupted, before pushing the door open, drawing her attention as she lowered herself to a standing position.

"Hi?" She greeted in confusion, breathing heavily.

"Rosie, it's almost half six!" he exclaimed, a little irritated. Her eyes widened.

" _Que_? Oh- _Je suis desolèe_ , I was not paying attention!" she cried, rushing over to gather her things. "You and Sirius go, I will catch up."

"Rosie!" Harry caught her arm as she made to dash past him to the changing rooms. She paused, looking at him breathlessly. "What's wrong?" he asked gently. "You've lost track of time dancing before, but never like this."

Rose looked at him blankly. "I simply was not paying attention, that eez all. Now may I go to shower?"

"Not until you tell me the truth. I know you're not- you go more French when you're trying to lie." She began to frown at him. "Rosie, _c'est moi._ Tell me." He encouraged, tilting his head at her. She bit her lip, glancing at the floor.

"I am afraid." She confessed in a voice so quiet that if Harry hadn't been listening for it he wouldn't have even known she had spoken.

"Of what?"

"Sirius…"

Harry blinked. "You're afraid of Sirius?" he quizzed, worry snaking through him. After all, they didn't really know the man and he'd abandoned his sister to live with him alone…

"No, not _of_ him. Of… I don't know." She looked frustrated, pressing her bag closer to her.

"I don't understand." He admitted.

"I… I'm afraid because _Je ne sais pas '_ ow I am supposed to act around him. We both know 'e is my father and sometimes he acts like it, and then _autre temps_ 'e barely acknowledges I exist! I do not know whether he thinks of me as his ex's daughter, or as his daughter or just as his Godson's adopted sister! I don't know 'ow I am supposed to act around him or when we're around other people and I am afraid of what will happen if I get it wrong and how they'll react when they found out!" she cried, tears welling in her eyes before she scrubbed them away roughly.

"Oh Rosie…"

He drew her into a hug, pretending he didn't feel how she shook before she managed to compose herself. "I wish I knew how to help…" he murmured.

"You already do." She replied softly, resting her head on his shoulder for a brief moment before she straightened. "Alright, you need to go and apologise to _tante Appolline et oncle Jean pour moi,_ and I need to have a shower. I'll come straight there once I'm ready."

"You sure?" Harry checked worriedly.

"Yes! Go!" she encouraged, flapping her hands at him with a watery smile before dashing up the corridor and out of sight.

Harry watched her go with a sad smile, shoving his hands in his pockets as he began to trudge back to the floo point. The little sister who had danced on the way to school with messy pigtails had given way to a sadder ballerina with her hair in a perfect bun. Had he caused that, he wondered, by being who he was? When their mother had chosen to steal him away, had she had any idea what the consequences for her young daughter would be?

Had she cared?

He reached the floo point and tossed the powder in, so lost in thought he almost forgot to call out the address. When he stumbled through the other end, Sirius was sitting there looking at him in amusement. "Decide to drop in?"

"Very funny." Harry said sourly, climbing to his feet and brushing himself off. Sirius smirked, waving his wand to get the soot off and glancing behind him.

"Where's Rose?"

"Getting changed- she'll catch up. _Bonjour_ _tata!_ " he greeted as Appolline entered the room.

" _Bonjour Chèrie. Oú est Rose?_ "

"On her way." Harry assured her. She tugged him and Sirius to the back living room where Fleur and Gabrielle were already sitting and it wasn't long before they were immersed in a game, the younger three often breaking out into streams of rapid French which annoyed Sirius no end and earned them a scolding from Jean-Claude.

"Fleur?" Rose questioned once she'd arrived. "Have you worked out the egg yet?"

"I 'aven't 'ad any luck with it." she sighed. "It just emits zat God-awful screech."

"What do you 'ave to work out?" Gabrielle asked curiously.

"The egg. It eez supposed to be a clue."

Fleur crossed to her bag and withdrew the egg while her sister looked baffled. "Clue?" she sounded out curiously.

" _Un indice._ " Harry supplied.

"Oh. Open it Fleur!" she encouraged. Fleur did so, causing everyone to jam their fingers in their ears.

Everyone except Gabrielle.

" _Mon dieu Fleur!_ " Rose complained.

"It eez like Violette." Gabrielle shrugged. The others stared at her.

"Who is Violette, _Chèrie?_ " Appolline questioned curiously.

" _Mon amie._ " She shrugged.

Her father looked confused. "You 'ave a friend who sounds like that?"

" _Oui._ _Elle habite dans l'eau._ "

"English _Chèrie_."

"She lives in the water?" Harry quizzed, wondering if he'd misheard.

" _Oui…_ yes."

There was a silence as they all processed that.

"A mermaid!" Rose realised suddenly, shooting upright.

" _Oui._ " Gabrielle said, as if that should have been obvious.

"Oh!" Fleur exclaimed, surging to her feet and dragging Harry into the bathroom. She quickly filled the sink with water and plunged the egg in, opening it and lowering her ear down.

"… Fleur?"

"Eet works!" The blonde girl grinned. "Listen!"

Harry did so, shocked when instead of screeching he heard a song. He grinned. " _Merci Gabby!_ "

"I will owl Viktor." Fleur smiled.

"And I'll owl Cedric for you."

He and Fleur grinned at each other over the water. They'd solved it.

* * *

On the last day of the holiday, they travelled to the hospital and spent the day with Emmeline, reading aloud to her and catching her up on anything she may have missed. Mid afternoon, Snape arrived.

"Hello Professor." Rose waved from where she was sat playing chess with Sirius, who was concentrating so hard he didn't even look up.

"Hello brat. Minerva, Mr Potter."

"Severus?" Minerva looked worried. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine. It's about Emmeline." he said. Harry and Rosalie immediately tensed.

"Did you find a cure?" She asked anxiously.

"Not exactly. I believe I have devised a potion that will prevent her condition from deteriorating further. You must have noticed that although it fluctuates, it has generally declined since her first injury."

Minerva narrowed her eyes. "And this potion will prevent that decline?"

"I believe so."

"But you don't know for sure?" Rose interjected. He tilted his slightly.

"I do not." He confirmed.

"Are there side effects?" Sirius questioned with a frown.

"Again, I do not know for certain. As the healers and I have been unable to ascertain exactly which curse Emmeline was hit with, devising a treatment has been... complicated."

Rosalie was frowning, her arms crossed. "Can this potion be administered at any time?"

"It can."

"Then I think we should wait."

Harry choked. "What?!" He exclaimed. "This could stop _maman_ getting worse!"

"Yes, and the unknown side effects could kill her!" She argued, glancing at Snape. "Am I wrong?"

He hesitated briefly. "No." He admitted. "Although that is the very worst case scenario."

"But it is still a possibility. No. This is too dangerous."

Harry glared at her. "I disagree! She's going to get worse anyway. The worst this could do would be to speed up the inevitable!"

"Oh? And if she dies, and then a cure is found at some point in the future? Then what?" Rose challenged.

"Children!" Minerva interrupted. They fell silent, both turning to look at her. She sighed. "Bickering is not going to do any good." She told them. "Severus, based on your experience what is your recommendation?"

But he shook his head. "This is not for me to decide. The potion, at best, will stabilise her. At worst, it could kill her. There is also a possibility that it will do nothing at all. It is impossible to predict which outcome will occur."

"Might I suggest you vote on it?" Sirius volunteered.

"An excellent idea." Agreed Minerva. "I think yes."

"As do I." Harry added.

Rose shook her head. "No."

They all looked expectantly at Sirius. "I get a vote?" he startled.

"Obviously." Drawled Harry.

"Oh." He considered the possibilities for a moment, before glancing apologetically at Rosalie. "Sorry angel, but I agree with Minerva and Harry. We should try this."

"When can it be administered, Severus?" Minerva questioned.

"Immediately. It is ready now."

Harry wasn't entirely sure how it happened but there was a flurry of activity, and he remembered being hurried into the hall by his aunt and then his cloak thrown to him by Rose and suddenly they were apparating, an uncomfortable kaleidoscope of colours that ended with him landing heavily in the entrance of the hospital and then they were in his mother's room, with Rose clutching at his hand painfully as they were watching Snape carefully tip a potion down his mother's throat.

For the longest minute, nothing changed.

And then his mother gasped loudly, and stiffened. Harry tightened his grip on Rosalie's hand, heart thudding in his chest so loudly he could almost hear it.

And then Emmeline relaxed, her entire body softening.

"Was… was that it?" he asked tentatively. At his feet, Sirius was watching cautiously as Padfoot, his weight shifting constantly.

"Severus?" questioned Minerva anxiously. The potions master was performing scan after scan on Emmeline, his expressionless face revealing nothing. "Severus!"

"There doesn't seem to be any ill effect at the moment." The man said eventually. "Her vitals are fluctuating constantly however, and-"

"AAH!"

He was interrupted by a screech from the matron, who had walked in and seen Padfoot on the floor. Cursing rapidly in French, she flicked her wand and bundled all of them bar Snape out of the door, shrieking at them in uncomplimentary terms and deaf to their protests.

Outside the hospital, Minerva sighed. "Well, nothing more to be done." She sighed. "We'll have to rely on Severus to keep an eye on her."

"But Auntie-!

" _Tata-!_ "

Joint protests went up, but she cut them off. "No children. Severus will inform us if anything changes. Now come along."

Unhappily, they returned to Grimmauld place and the rest of the day passed quickly; all too soon Harry found himself flung back into school life, gladder than ever that his mother's extra teaching meant that he could afford to miss classes without dropping grades while he researched how to breath under water in order to help Fleur, who as a veela was going to need more help. More often than not, Cedric and Viktor joined them as well, joining forces to discover three ways of breathing underwater.

Krum had thought almost immediately of a partial transfiguration, although Fleur persuaded him that the dangers outweighed the advantages. She herself was advocating using a bubblehead charm, but Cedric was worried that it was too easy to pop. They were completely baffled, at least until Rose called him on the mirror one evening very excited.

"I know how Fleur can breathe underwater!" she grinned excitedly.

Harry looked intrigued. "How?"

"There's a potion, it is old and fairly complex but it will do what you need." She spun the mirror to show him the page and his eyes widened.

"Complex? That's the understatement of the century!"

He sounded a little dazed and Rose smiled slightly. "True, but it will give you the ability to hold your breath for thirty minutes straight. That's longer than any free diver and will be more than enough with you all working together."

"How does it work?"

"I have no idea. I am not a potions mistress. But it does, and from what I can tell all the ingredients are still available."

Harry stared at her. "Rose! There is no way I can make this potion! It's far too complicated for anybody but a master potions maker!"

"Whoever said you had to make it?" She retorted.

"Huh?"

"Harry, there is nothing in the rules that say you are not allowed to have someone else make a potion for you. It cannot be Professor Zhang because she is Fleur's teacher, but somebody else can."

"Technically, the potions master at Durmstrang counts..." Harry said slowly. Rose grinned.

"I will owl you the book with the page marked. _Bon chance._ "

* * *

Two exams at school and a piano recital meant that Rose couldn't attend the second task, instead she was holed up in an empty classroom at school with the mirror, which Sirius had while he hid in the shadows around the lake.

"What's wrong?" she asked as soon as she saw his face.

"Hermione and Harry didn't turn up to meet me." He frowned. "And I think there is a problem with Fleur."

"What?"

"She looks worried, keeps asking her headmistress something and searching the crowds but Maxime keeps brushing her off."

"What you'll sorely miss…" murmured Rose thoughtfully. Then bolted upright. " _Merde!_ How did we miss that?"

"What?"

"It is not a thing! _C'est une personne!_ "

"A person?"

"Gabrielle. They took Gabrielle for Fleur. Do you see Hannah?" she questioned. Sirius frowned, scanning the crowd.

"No… but I don't see Susan either."

"Maybe… maybe Hannah for Cedric and Hermione for Krum. That is what the ball was about- to see who mattered to the champions." Rose looked worried. "They have to rescue people. That's more complicated than we thought…"

"They'll be fine." Sirius assured her. "They're in water, they won't be as heavy. It doesn't explain where Harry is though."

Rose wasn't convinced, and nibbled her lip worriedly as the competitors lined up. Eventually, the start was called and all three stepped forwards and as one, they dove into the water. Fleur reached into her swimsuit, withdrawing her wand and cancelling the invisibility charm around the buoy at the centre of the lake. They all swam straight towards it, treading water as they reached into the pouches attached around their waists to each withdraw a vial, breaking the seal and swallowing the sickly yellow contents down in one large gulp. Each took several deep breaths of air before they dove on the spot and vanished from view.

Rose knew that they would be swimming close together, grouped as they descended into the lake guided by the glow-in-the-dark line she had owled to Fleur the week before. The three champions had spent their nights taking it in turns to search the lake in pairs, while a spotter about waited for the rope to float up. On the fourth night, Fleur and Cedric had discovered the mer-village close to the centre of the lake and had released the rope, using magic to shoot it straight upwards to where Hermione was waiting in a boat. She'd secured the buoy and cast the invisibility charm to hide it from view.

It was less than twenty minutes later when the group of six rose to the surface together. "This is going to be good." Said Sirius gleefully. From his position, he could clearly see the judges gesturing angrily and a disapproving Dumbledore speaking frantically to Cedric, who simply shrugged and looked blank.

Then Madam Pomphrey ushered all six into the medical tent, and it was several minutes of harried looking people talking in tones far too low for him to hear.

A hand came down on his shoulder, and he yelped as he spun in alarm, almost dropping the mirror. "Really Mr Black." Huffed Minerva. "You're not very well hidden."

"Auntie what happened?" asked Rose before Sirius could retort something rude.

"The judges questioned them, and they claimed they simply all had the same idea of how to rescue the hostages."

"And they believe that?"

"No of course not." She looked amused. "But they could hardly call them liars, could they?"

"So what now?" Sirius questioned.

"Well, Bagman has decided that all the contestants should be scored equally. Now the judges are deciding what those scores should be."

Rose scoffed. "Wow, because they're going to be happy about that."

"It isn't appropriate for me to repeat what they said." Minerva replied primly, but the slightly wrinkled nose told her goddaughter everything she needed to know.

"Lovely." She said just as the bell rang. "I have to go, but call me if anything important happens and I'll make up an excuse to get out of class."

The screen went black and Minerva glared at Sirius. "You better not get her out of class Mr Black- anything important she can find out afterwards."

"Yes ma'am." He saluted, and she rolled her eyes. "Do you know where Harry is?"

"Harry?" she frowned, glancing towards the stands. "Is he not there?"

"No. And neither is Susan."

She looked worried. "They should be here… I don't know why they're not."

She hurried off in the direction of the stands and Sirius quickly transformed, bounding after her. "Mr Longbottom! Have you seen Mr Potter or Miss Bones?"

"Harry was gone when I woke up this morning, professor."

Minerva paled slightly, lips pressed together as she turned on her heel and stalked over to Dumbledore. "Have you seen Mr Potter?" she demanded. He looked bemused.

"I beg your pardon Minerva?"

"Harry is missing, as is Susan Bones. Do you have anything to do with this?"

He shook his head. "I assure you, I do not. When was he last seen?"

"Last night, in bed. The case is the same, I presume, for Miss Bones." She told him curtly.

"I see…"

"Professor, what's going on?" a voice from behind them demanded and they turned to see the three contestants standing there. Cedric had spoken, his arm wrapped around Hannah but Fleur was beside him as well, clutching Gabrielle to her tightly while Krum had his arms crossed over his chest, his glare dark and imposing beside a timid looking Hermione, who had a towel draped around her.

Minerva perused her lips; Dumbledore had begun to placate the group, assuring them that nothing was wrong and why didn't they return to Madam Pomphrey.

"Professor?" Hermione looked directly at Minerva, speaking over the old man as if he weren't there. Minerva, in the back of her mind, felt a glimmer of pride at how far the girl had come.

"Susan and Harry are missing."


	24. Chapter 24

Before she could explain any further, there was yet another interruption.

"Eez there a problem, Dumbly-door?" Madame Maxime questioned as she hurried up, casting a frown over the contestants and their expressions.

"Yes there bloody is!"

They all turned at the sound of a voice from behind them. Susan stood there, so angry her cheeks were pink and her visible hand clenched into a fist, dried tears noticeable on her cheeks.

"Miss Bones?" Minerva stepped towards her uncertainly, worried about her appearance. "Are you quite alright?"

"No! No, and neither is Harry!"

"Harry?"

Trembling with fury, Susan held up a fist of crumpled paper. "Look! He signed it to save me, and now he's stuck!"

Minerva stepped forward to take it, and paled drastically when she read what it was. "I don't- he signed this?"

"Because he said he would kill me if he didn't!"

"Who?"

"I don't know." Susan looked more miserable than angry now, tears in her eyes. "He wore a hood and I didn't know his voice. I woke up in the room with him and Harry."

"Which room, Miss Bones?" Dumbledore asked urgently.

"I don't know! It was just an unused room in the castle!" she cried. "And the man in the cloak- he said that he would kill me if Harry didn't sign the paper! And when Harry didn't believe him, he did this!"

For the first time, she showed them her arm and they all gasped. It was mangled, twisted and a bright purple and red, sitting in angles that it shouldn't have been with her palm facing the opposite way to how is usually would.

"So Harry signed it. And the man left, and then the spell holding us vanished." Susan finished in a sob. Minerva gently placed an arm around her shoulders, sending a patronus to Poppy.

"Where is Harry now?" Dumbledore asked, interrupting his deputy who had been about to say something.

"He went to his common room. He said something about a mirror and a rose." Dumbledore looked baffled, but quiet understanding flashed through Minerva. She exchanged a look with the dog at her feet, who immediately bounded away while she led the now sobbing redhead to the medical tent.

She sat down heavily outside it once Susan was being cared for, head in her hand while the other held the paper. "Professor?"

She looked up to see Neville standing in front of her timidly, the entirety of Gryffindor house behind him, along with several students from the other houses. She started slightly, looked surprised.

"What's wrong with Harry?" Neville asked, tone firm but respectful. She was about to tell them to go to class and to stop prying, when she paused, noting the worry on their faces.

She sighed. "You heard Miss Bones' story?"

"We all did."

"Harry was made to sign a magical contract that binds him into competing in the third task. He won't necessarily be a champion, but he will have to compete or he will die." She rubbed her temple, fear twisting within her.

A nervous first year named Natalie stepped forward. "But… can't he get out of it? Like with the first task?"

Minerva shook her head. "In the first task, we managed to find a loophole that we weren't even sure would work. This time… this time, I don't believe any such loophole would have been left. He will have to compete."

"Somebody really wants him dead." George commented. This caused small cries from the younger students, who looked fearful and upset, clutching at each other. Minerva frowned at him. "Well, they do!"

"Somebody tried to illegally enter him and when that didn't work, they forced him into it through brute force. Someone definitely has it out for him." Fred agreed. This didn't help any, the younger students outright crying now.

"Oh, you two!" Minerva scolded. "Listen to me, all of you." She put an arm around a tiny first year called May, who was sobbing almost uncontrollably. "Harry is a very, very good wizard and he has lots of people to help him, including all of us. He'll be trained and taught new spells, and we will all support him, won't we, so he knows he's not alone?"

She looked around pointedly and they all nodded, heads bobbing up and down frantically.

"Our house is our family." Angelina said determinedly. "We've been pretty crappy so far this year-"

"And in his second!" Colin piped up.

"-but we can remedy that now." She continued, looking around at them. "Look at the other houses- the Ravenclaws have study groups and clubs. The Hufflepuffs are naturally a close bunch, even the Slytherins close ranks when it comes to an attack from outside. And then there's us, who abandoned one of our own because we were afraid of being ostracised too. Well, I say screw the rest of them! Let's be the family professor McGonagall told us to be before we even knew which house we would be in!"

A cheer sounded from the students listening, and Minerva couldn't help but smile proudly. The only time she had seen a house this close was when Voldemort had been at the height of his power, and Lily Evans had fiercely reprimanded anyone who sewed dissent between the students.

Harry would get through this, simply because the other possibility was too terrible to comprehend.

Meanwhile, a seething Harry had been venting to Rose over the mirror, furious with himself for dropping his guard long enough to be taken, and even angrier that there was apparently no protections for students from this sort of thing. Though why would there be? This was Hogwarts after all!

He paced up and down his room and it was a good hour before Rose had calmed Harry down enough for him to talk properly, at which point he bid her goodbye and ran to where his aunt was waiting in her office. She embraced him tightly, allowing him to bury his face in her shoulder for a long moment while he prepared to face the headmaster and the rest of the adults in the room.

Dumbledore apologised to him, giving all sorts of excuses but by that point a distraught Susan had already contacted her aunt, who was so angry she marched straight to Hogwarts and tore him to pieces in front of the entire student body that night at dinner. She'd given him a month, promising that if there weren't extra protections and additional wards in place by then she would personally rally up enough support to, if not oust him, at least cause him considerable trouble.

He agreed.

It was less than a week later when Harry flew through the corridors of Hogwarts, storming through the small crowds who yelped and scattered in surprise, most calling angrily after him. He ignored them, bursting into his aunt's office without knocking.

"Mr Potter!" she exclaimed with a frown, turning as he made his entrance. Harry winced when he saw professor Dumbledore standing with her, parchment held in his hands.

"Sorry Professor." He apologised quickly. "But I need to talk to you."

"Don't you have a class?"

"This is more important."

Harry met her eyes, trying to convey his urgency without words. Worry flashed across her face but she carefully schooled her expression. "Very well, wait outside one moment Potter."

He did so, and it was only a minute later that Dumbledore appeared. "Anything I can help you with, my boy?" he asked kindly.

"No thank you, professor." Harry answered politely as he slipped past him into the office. His aunt was waiting and her gaze snapped to him as he closed the door behind him.

"Well?"

"Hermione and Fleur got hate mail this morning because of Rita Skeeter." He said without preamble. "Apparently she printed that Hermione is my girlfriend cheating on me with Krum and Fleur is trying to steal me while putting her little sister in danger out of desperation for fame."

"Harry, it's despicable but I don't see what-"

"I'm taking legal action against her." Harry interrupted, shucking his school robes and delving in his back to pull out formal ones embroidered with the Potter and Vance family crests. "And I'm going now."

"You have lessons!"

"I don't care!" Harry snapped.

"Watch your tone with me, young man." She rebuked, glaring at him. He took a deep breath.

"Sorry _tata._ But this has gone far enough. This woman gets away with writing whatever she wants because no one has the guts to stand up and say anything." He pulled on the robes with angry, jerky movements. "Well, I'm the bloody boy-who-lived aren't I? I might as well make it mean something. Even this bloody antiquated world there must be laws and legislations to stop libel. And even a civil suit against Skeeter will damage the bitch's reputation and cause enough controversy around her that people won't automatically believe her when she vilifies someone. With a little luck, it'll stop her completely."

"You and your sister are quite possibly the only people I've ever met who are able to mix legal speak with profanities." Minerva said dryly.

"It's completely outrageous what people are able to get away with, and they only think they can because the Wizengamot has set the precedent that they won't do anything to prevent it! They sent deadly curses to a fifteen year old!" he ranted. "'Mione could have been permanently scarred! Or-"

"Harry!" his aunt interrupted and he fell silent, turning to face her fully. "I'm not arguing with you, _a leannan._ I wish you would do this after your lessons but I'm not going to stop you."

"You're not?" Harry looked surprised.

"No." she smiled slightly. "I happen to think that you're right, and I know that you're already ahead in your lessons. That said, be back by curfew, won't you? Or owl me if you think you're going to be later. And check on your mother while you're there!"

"I will." He promised, kissing her cheek and grabbing a handful of floo powder. She watched him vanish in the green flame, wondering whether the wizarding world was quite ready for Harry Potter-Vance.

That night, over dinner, she fended off the other teacher's questions on Harry's whereabouts and then did the same with his concerned friends afterwards. Dumbledore was watching her with narrowed eyes throughout, and absently she thought that it wouldn't be long before he was suspicious enough to do something more drastic to discover the truth about Harry's home situation.

It was late when her fire flared up, causing her to drop ink over the sixth year essay she was marking when she jumped. Harry appeared, stumbling slightly as he landed, shaking his hair out of his eyes. " _Bonsoir tata._ "

" _Bonsoir._ How did it go?"

He sighed, slumping into one of the seats at her desk. "It could have been worse. Monsieur Lefebvre is willing to fight the case- he can practise law here as well as France. He's more concerned with the ramifications for me."

She'd dropped her marking by this point and was listening with a frown. "How so?"

"This will give the newspapers free reign on my personal life." He explained. "I'll be effectively launching myself into the public eye, and since I've made such an effort to stay out of it he thinks people will be more interested than ever."

"So it's your choice."

"There isn't a choice." He said resolutely. "I've been forced to compete in this farce of a competition, but I don't intend to allow it to hurt my friends. I went to see Rose before I returned and I explained- she agrees with me, and is prepared for the limelight that may shine on her as a result."

"I think, Harry, that all of your parents would be very, very proud of you." She said softly. For the first time, the anger that lined his face softened and a small smile graced his lips.

"Do you think so?"

"I do."

He grinned happily at her. " _Maman_ is looking a little better- she has more colour in her cheeks and she's more stable as well."

"That's wonderful." Minerva smiled. Harry tilted his head at her.

"Are you okay with me doing this auntie? It's likely that your involvement will be brought to light as well."

"I've been prepared for that since the day I agreed to help your mother kidnap you _a leannan._ " She gave a slight laugh.

"You didn't kidnap me- you rescued me." Harry said softly.

"Well, what am I supposed to say to that?" she huffed good naturedly. He chuckled. "Get to bed, young man." She ordered with a smile.

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

"Harry?" Rose looked confused when she answered the buzzing mirror, double checking the clock behind her. "Why are you calling at five in the morning?"

"I tried last night but you didn't answer." He explained quietly. She blinked sleepily.

"Sorry." She hid a yawn behind her hand, dropping to sit at her desk. "I got home late, Madame DuBois is stressing over the end of year showcase already."

Harry looked amused. "It's months away."

"Apparently there some very important people attending this year." She explained as she combed out the loose plait that had held her hair back and began to brush it. "What was wrong anyway?"

"I had another vision yesterday."

Rose paused in her actions, glancing at him. "What was this one?"

"I'm not entirely sure… Wormtail and Voldemort, the latter angry at the former. He said Pettigrew had blundered, but he didn't say how."

"Maybe it's to do with Crouch?" Rose suggested, recalling the man's appearance in the forest. Harry made a face.

"Bit of a leap."

"How did you get a vision during the day anyway?" Rose asked as she twisted the front section of her hair away from her face. "I thought you got them while asleep?"

"I fell asleep in Runes." He admitted sheepishly. She frowned at him.

"Harry!"

"It wasn't intentional! I'd been up with Cedric, Fleur and Krum the night before strategizing."

"Still." She grumbled as she secured her hair with a ribbon, looping it into a loose bow.

He made a face when he thought she wasn't watching. "Can we talk about what's important here?"

"The fact that you are apparently not doing your occlumency exercises?" she suggested as she vanished further into the room. From the rustling he heard, Harry guessed she was getting dressed.

"That's not the point!" he spluttered.

"Oh, so you're not doing them?"

"No!- I mean, yes…"

"Well, which is it? You cannot be doing them and not doing them."

"I forgot the night before, okay?"

"It's your life, Harry." She sighed. "I can nag you as much as I want, but ultimately if you would like to open yourself up to a psychopath that is your choice." She reappeared in a blouse, skirt and tights just as there was a knock on her door. "Come in!"

"Rose? Who were you talking to?" Sirius looked puzzled as he poked his head in.

"Hi Sirius."

"Hey pup!" the man grinned, entering properly. "What's up?" Harry explained what had happened, only to receive a bemused look. "I thought you practiced occlumency?"

Harry groaned, flopping backwards while Rose just smirked.

* * *

Harry was scowling down at the prophet on the morning of the third task, a nervous Hermione at his side trying to keep him calm. "Harry, just ignore her." She encouraged.

"Ignore her! How does she even know about this stuff anyway?!" he demanded. "I was in runes when I collapsed and she's not allowed on the grounds!"

"I don't know." Hermione admitted with a sigh.

"But you're the one who's supposed to be researching magical methods of bugging!" exclaimed Harry. "You're basically an expert!"

"I've been trying!" said Hermione. "But I... but..." An odd, dreamy expression suddenly came over Hermione's face. She slowly raised a hand and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Are you all right?" asked Parvati from down the table, frowning at her.

"Yes," said Hermione breathlessly. She ran her fingers through her hair again, and then held her hand up to her mouth, as though speaking into an invisible walkie-talkie. Harry stared at her. "I've had an idea," Hermione said, gazing into space. "I think I know… because then no one would be able to see ... even Moody… and she'd have been able to get onto the window ledge… but she's not allowed… she's definitely not allowed ... I think we've got her! Just give me two seconds in the library - just to make sure!"

With that, Hermione seized her school bag and dashed out of the Great Hall.

"Oi!" Ron called after her. "We've got our History of Magic exam in ten minutes!"

He glanced tentatively at Harry. "Blimey." he said, turning back to Harry, "It must be important to risk missing the start of an exam."

Harry was mystified. " _Cinglé._ " He declared, shaking his head. Ron looked baffled.

His aunt came walking alongside the Gryffindor table toward him at that moment, also looking curiously in Hermione's direction. "She does know she's not due in her exam yet?" she queried. Harry shrugged.

"I've given up trying to decipher girls." He said in frustration. She smiled slightly.

"The champions are congregating in the chamber off the Hall after breakfast." she said. "And before you ask, yes, you have to go."

"But the task's not till tonight!" said Harry, accidentally spilling scrambled eggs down his front, afraid he had mistaken the time.

"I'm aware of that" she said. "The champions' families are officially invited to watch the final task, you know. This is simply a chance for you to greet them."

She put emphasis on officially, eyes laughing as she moved away. Harry gaped after her.

"But my family isn't coming!" Rose was stuck with three mock exams on the same day and Sirius couldn't just turn up, could he? Confused, he looked over to the Ravenclaw table to see Fleur laughing at him.

" _Allons-y!_ " she encouraged, holding out her hand as she stood. He took it and Cedric and Krum joined them as they walked.

"Fleur? Do you know something I don't?"

Cedric pushed open the door, veering off to talk to his parents but before Harry could do anything else he was bowled over by a large black door. "Padfoot!" he exclaimed with a laugh. He knelt and laughed as he was slobbered all over. "Yuck!"

"He's been waiting to do that all morning." Came an amused voice from behind his godfather and he looked up to see Rosalie stood there. To anyone else, she looked the picture of grace and confidence. Harry could see how stiffly she held her spine, and how her fingers were clenched slightly in the material of her dress as her smile failed to meet her eyes.

He bounded over to her and spun her in the air, grinning as she yelped in surprise. "Let me down, you _néandertal!"_

But she was laughing as he lowered her, hugging her tightly. "I thought you had exams!"

"I did, but I am mysteriously sick." She shrugged, faking an unenthusiastic cough.

"Rose, you skiver!" he teased. She raised an eyebrow.

"Would you like to open up that discussion again?" she hadn't been impressed when she discovered how many lessons he had been skipping.

"Perhaps not. _Bonjour tata, oncle!_ "

His aunt and uncle both hugged him tightly. "I am very unhappy with you and Fleur in this competition." His aunt muttered worriedly.

" _Maman_ , we will be working together and we will be fine." Fleur assured her. She and Harry exchanged a long glance.

"Using Gabrielle was despicable." Jean-Claude said grimly. "And without permission… reprehensible. And allowing you to be entered…"

Rose patted his arm.

"I'm fine papa." Gabrielle assured him, leaning against his side as Harry heard his name being called.

"Mrs Weasley." He said in surprise. "And… Bill, right? What are you doing here?"

"Dumbledore thought you might like somebody here dear, since you don't have family." Mrs Weasley smiled brightly. Harry felt his expression tighten.

"That's very kind of you, but I have family, as you can see. Thank you though." He deliberately turned his back, wrapping an arm around Rose who shot him a curious look. He could hear Mrs Weasley spluttering, and the low murmur of Bill as he apparently led his mother away.

"What right does she have to claim herself your _famille?!_ " Rose burst out furiously as soon as they were gone.

"I have no idea. She sends me Christmas, Birthday and Easter gifts though and I am friends with four of her children so I suppose that's it…" he shrugged.

"Ron is your friend again?"

He sighed. "Getting there. I still haven't heard an actual apology though."

Rose snorted derisively. "The way he has been acting, I'm not entirely certain why you're so worried. What kind of friend treats you like that?"

"Enough." Harry frowned at her.

"Children." Appolline interrupted them. "Why don't you show us around, Harry? I'm sure we would all love a proper tour."

Harry agreed, starting with the grounds outside first and in the sunshine, he and Rose were soon laughing and joking once again, Gabrielle having great fun playing with Padfoot as they ran around.

"Gabby!" he called suddenly in alarm. "Get away from there!"

But Sirius had already leapt into action and knocked the girl away from the whomping willow just as a branch slammed into the ground where she had been standing moments before. "What in the world is that?!" Appolline exclaimed as she rushed over and checked over Gabrielle worriedly.

"The whomping willow. It hides the entrance to the shrieking shack." He explained miserably. "I'm sorry _tata,_ I forgot Gabby wouldn't know."

"They have that in a school!?" Jean-Claude cried angrily.

"It was because Lupin used to transform in there, so it discouraged students from climbing down. Hitting the knot stops the tree."

"Like a pressure point." Rose realised for the first time, looked vaguely amused.

"I suppose." Harry had never thought of it like that before. "Come on, it's lunch time."

Lunch was filled with curious students whispering about the relationship between the group sitting at Gryffindor table. Harry realised that Rose could probably pass as their aunt and uncle's daughter to someone who wasn't paying close attention- she was blonde haired and blue eyed, although her hair was a different shade and her eyes a deeper blue. And since Jean-Claude was a public figure, everyone knew he had two daughters so the appearance of a third girl was causing all sorts of rumours.

" _Bonjour Hermione._ " Rose greeted as the brown haired girl came flying into the hall.

"Rose!" she hugged her tightly as Harry remember that she had had a brainwave about Rita Skeeter.

"Are you going to tell us - ?"

Hermione shook her head warningly. "Later." She promised. After lunch, Harry showed the group around the castle, introducing them to the many ghosts and portraits he was friendly with and showing them the tricks of getting around unseen. Gabrielle- who had considerably shorter legs than everyone but Rose- quickly grew tired from all the walking and was obligingly lifted onto her father's shoulders. "Alright for some." Rose grumbled good naturedly, her own smaller stride taxing even her considerable stamina.

Harry grinned. "Hop on."

"What?" she looked at him as he spun and gestured for her to climb on his back.

"Come on, I know fully well that Madame DuBois would have had you dancing this morning instead of this evening and you, being you, probably did at least three hours straight." He cocked an eyebrow.

She sighed but smiled slightly, jumping onto his back and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You may be right." She admitted. He hoisted her up more securely and began to walk as Fleur giggled and shook her head at them.

They walked to the hall for the evening feast, running into Hermione and the Weasleys on the way. Harry greeted them politely, even Ron and they sat together at Gryffindor, the Weasleys all casting curious looks at Rosalie, who was still perched on Harry's back.

Ludo Bagman and Cornelius Fudge had joined the staff table now. Bagman looked quite cheerful, but Cornelius Fudge, who was sitting next to Madame Maxime, looked stern and was not talking. Madame Maxime was concentrating on her plate, and Harry thought her eyes looked red while Hagrid kept glancing along the table at her. There were more courses than usual, but Harry, who was starting to feel really nervous now, didn't eat much. As the enchanted ceiling overhead began to fade from blue to a dusky purple, Dumbledore rose to his feet at the staff table, and silence fell.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."

Rose kissed his cheek as Harry got up. " _Bon chance._ " She and the Delacours all murmured to the pair. The Gryffindors all along the table were applauding him; the Weasleys and Hermione all wished him good luck as well and he headed off out of the Great Hall with Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor.

"Feeling all right. Harry?" Bagman asked as they went down the stone steps onto the grounds. "Confident?"

"I'm okay," said Harry. It was sort of true; he was nervous, but he kept running over all the hexes and spells he had been practicing in his mind as they walked, and the knowledge that he could remember them all made him feel better.

They walked onto the Quidditch field, which was now completely unrecognizable. A twenty-foot-high hedge ran all the way around the edge of it. There was a gap right in front of them: the entrance to the vast maze. The passage beyond it looked dark and creepy, thought Harry, and full of hidden secrets.

Five minutes later, the stands had begun to fill; the air was full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students filed into their seats. The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the 0

first stars were starting to appear. Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick came walking into the stadium and approached Bagman and the champions. They were wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, all except Hagrid, who had his on the back of his moleskin vest.

"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze," said Professor McGonagall to the champions. "If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you, do you understand?" The champions nodded, and she gave them all a weak smile. "Good luck."

"Off you go, then!" said Bagman brightly to the four patrollers.

"Good luck, Harry," Hagrid whispered, and the four of them walked away in different directions, to station themselves around the maze. Bagman now pointed his wand at his throat, muttered, "Sonorus," and his magically magnified voice echoed into the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand!" Harry zoned out, already knowing how they were entering the maze. Fleur was first, then Cedric and finally Krum. He'd be going first though, since no one was entirely sure how the contract worked, they didn't want to risk it accidently registering that he wasn't going to compete.

But the organisers were going to get a nasty surprise, he thought grimly, exchanging looks with the other three.

Automatically, he found his gaze drawn towards the stands and it wasn't hard to find Rose and the Delacours. Hermione was standing next to his sister, their fingers tightly entwined together and resting on the same railing that Padfoot was using to balance himself on his hind legs so he could see. Next to Hermione, he could see what looked like most of his year group, even some Slytherins all cheering his name wildly.

"So ... on my whistle, Harry!" said Bagman. "Three - two - one -"

He gave a short blast on his whistle, and Harry moved forward into the maze. The towering hedges cast black shadows across the path, and whether because they were so tall and thick or because they had been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd was silenced the moment he entered the maze. Harry felt almost as though he were underwater. He pulled out his wand, muttered "Lumos" and sat down.

A minute later Fleur joined him, wrinkling her nose as she took in her surroundings. "I think I will stand…"

Harry amused himself by making shadows with his fingers in the light of the wand while they waited for Cedric and Viktor to join them. "Everyone ready?" checked Cedric as Harry clambered to his feet. They all murmured their agreements, lighting their wands to give as much light as possible and as one moved deeper into the maze.

 ** _Hi everyone! Somebody asked me to put the French translations in- if you'd like the ones for past chapters just tell me and I'll dig them up, otherwise here are some of the common ones I use and the ones for this chapter:_**

 ** _Maman- mum_**

 ** _Oncle- Uncle_**

 ** _Tante- Aunt_**

 ** _Tata- Auntie_**

 ** _Bonjour- Hello/ Good day_**

 ** _Bonsoir- Good evening_**

 ** _Mon dieu- My God_**

 ** _Frère- brother_**

 ** _Soeur- sister_**

 ** _Petit(e)- little_**

 ** _Merde- shit_**

 ** _Cinglé- Crazy_**

 ** _Famille- Family_**

 ** _Bon chance- good luck_**

 ** _Allons-Y- Let's go_**

 ** _Néandertal- Neanderthal_**

 ** _'_** ** _A leannan' isn't French- it's Scottish Gaelic but I put it in here just in case. It means 'sweetheart' in the endearment sense._**

 ** _Thanks for reading this- You're all wonderful! xxx_**


	25. Chapter 25

**_Thanks for reading! X_**

They moved fluidly together, weeks of harrowing training resulting in them working as a unit rather than four individuals. It was only fifty yards later that they came to a fork. "Left or right?" Harry glanced around, but there were no clues.

"Left."

"Left."

Fleur and Viktor said at the same time, looking at each other in mild amusement. After a moment, Cedric said "Right."

"Left." Agreed Harry, shooting an apologetic at his schoolmate.

"Do you feel az eef we are being watched?" Fleur murmured uncomfortably.

"I vas just thinking za same." Viktor agreed. The maze was growing darker with every passing minute as the sky overhead deepened to navy. They reached a second fork, and Fleur spoke up first.

"Left again?"

"Point Me," Harry whispered to his wand, holding it flat in his palm. It spun around once and pointed toward his right, into solid hedge. That way was north, and he knew that he needed to go northwest for the centre of the maze.

"Left then right as soon as we can?" suggested Cedric.

"Agreed." Viktor nodded, raising his own illuminated wand a little higher. They carried on, wordlessly turning right when the possibility rose and continued to walk in silence, until a rustling from beside them had them all freezing.

Harry readied his wand. "Fleur, Viktor?"

Gracefully, the blonde climbed onto the tall boy's shoulders and peered over the hedge, recoiling slightly. "What are zose?" she questioned in disgust.

"What?"

"Ze look like salamanders…"

" _That_ you know the English word for?" Harry asked in exasperation. She shrugged, climbing down and landing lightly.

"Blast-ended skrewts." Cedric said suddenly. They all looked at him and he shrugged. "Makes sense, doesn't it."

"It does actually." Harry admitted. "Let's go then."

They hurried on, Harry in the lead and turning a corner as quickly and quietly as they could. Harry looked up, and felt his breath hitch as he saw the lifeless form on the floor in front of him, slamming to a halt so quickly that Cedric and Fleur both ran into him. "'Arry?" came the immediate question. He couldn't answer, gaze fixed on Rosalie.

It was Fleur who realised and quickly stepped in front of him. "Riddikulus." She said firmly, and Harry couldn't help but be relieved as with a loud crack, the mirage dissipated into smoke.

"Sorry." He mumbled. Viktor patted his shoulder.

Cedric took the lead now, leading them down a few dead ends before they entered a new section of the maze. There was a strange figure skulking up ahead.

"What is it…?" breathed Cedric.

"Don't know…" Harry stepped forward, bracing himself and feeling slightly better when he saw Viktor step up beside him. "Lumos!"

He flicked his wand slightly so the light flew down the path and illuminated the figure, which let out a roaring hiss. "Is that a-?" Harry began, trailing off in incredulity.

"Hydra…" Viktor eyes were bright.

"I vote we go back and find another way." Cedric swallowed thickly. Harry began to scramble backwards.

"No arguments from me."

They ran back, taking a different path and continued to run. "Wait… we 'ave passed this way already." Fleur realised. They came to a stop, breathing heavily.

"We're going in circles." Groaned Cedric. Harry felt irritation flicker through him.

"Sh!" ordered Krum. They all hushed, and in the silence they could hear footsteps.

"Someone else is in here." Whispered Cedric.

"I think it's Moody." Harry whispered back. "One of the steps sounds funny."

"Must be something to do with protecting us." He shrugged. They all relaxed, looking around in growing frustration.

"But where do we go now? We cannot retrace our stepz much more, and ze only ozzer way contains an 'idra." Fleur crossed her arms. Inexplicably, a phrase that Gideon was fond of popped into Harry's mind.

"The quickest way between two points is straight… though not always the most interesting." He murmured.

"What?" Krum questioned.

"The quickest way between two points." Harry smiled unpleasantly. "Bombarda!"

The hedge in front of them was blasted away. "'Arry!" Fleur cried, aghast.

"Was there anything in the rules that said we couldn't?" he shrugged. Viktor grinned.

"I knew I liked you."

"Point me." Cedric balanced his wand, and they simply blasted through the hedges towards the cup. Fleur and Victor covered them from the traps set and within minutes they were in front of a huge pedestal with the cup on.

Fleur smiled. "We did it."

"What now?" Cedric wondered.

"Touch it? But together, just in case." Harry suggested. They all nodded in agreement. They stepped forward and surrounded it, two to each handle. "On three."

Cedric looked as if he were readying himself. "One."

" _Вtopa_." Viktor flexed his fingers.

" _Trois_." Fleur finished and they each grasped their handle.

Instantly, Harry felt a jerk somewhere behind his navel. His feet had left the ground and he couldn't unclench the hand holding the Triwizard Cup; it was pulling him onward in a howl of wind and swirling colour. Fleur's hand groped for his and held on tightly even as they slammed into the ground.

* * *

Rose was cold and frustrated up in the stands, the amusement she had felt at the reactions of everyone when they had realised the competitors were working together had long since diminished. The spectators could see a little of what was occurring in the maze- they caught sight of Fleur at one point, apparently on the shoulders of someone else and every so often there would be a flash of light from within, but the hedges were too tall and dark to see much of what was provoking them.

"This is insanity." Sighed Hermione. "And worse than watching golf."

"What's golf?" asked Ron.

"Muggle sport." Answered Dean absently.

"If you can call it a sport." Sniffed Hermione, then jumped as a loud bang came from the maze. "What was that?"

"Some sort of explosion?" Lavender peered through the relative darkness into the maze.

"What did they put in there to warrant explosions?" questioned Susan. Rose bit her lip, tilting her head as another was heard in the quiet that had befallen the spectators.

"Oh, that's brilliant!" Padma Patil breathed. Her sister glanced at her.

"What?"

"Well, I suppose a straight line is certainly quicker." Commented Rose, struggling to keep a straight face.

Fred and George Weasley looked at her, then at each other, then at the maze. "You're joking!" they exclaimed together.

"That's brilliant!"

"It's inspired!"

Realisation crept across Hermione's face. "Oh, Rose tell me he's not doing what I think he's doing."

"I think he is." The blonde grinned. Gabrielle tugged her hand.

" _Qu'est-ce que c'est?_ "

"He's going through the hedges instead of around them." She explained to the girl, loudly enough for everyone around to hear. There was a second of silence, then they began to cheer.

It was apparently infectious, because the cheering- and the explanation for it- spread quickly and soon everyone was clapping and yelling. Hermione leaned closer to Rose. "Look at Dumbledore. He is not happy."

Rose shot her a surprised look, and the brunette girl shrugged. "Harry was right. He might be a great wizard but what he did was despicable. What he's still trying to do even more so."

Rose smiled at her, relieved to have another supporter on their side. "Look!" Colin Creevey yelled suddenly. "There they are!"

Sure enough, all four competitors had reached the centre of the maze and looked to have a brief discussion before positioning themselves around the cup. Hermione squealed happily as all four reached for it and grasped it… and vanished.

"Well, that's crap." Ron said bluntly. Hermione hit him in the arm, but was frowning herself.

"What's the point in that?" she complained. "Another section of the task we can't see?"

Dean snorted in derision. "Makes about as much sense as the underwater one."

"No- something's wrong." Rose murmured. Hermione glanced at her, silently questioning. "Look at their faces."

They all did so, and Hermione frowned. "They look…"

"Worried." Finished Seamus.

"And surprised." Added Fay Dunbar.

"Now dears, I'm sure everything is fine." Mrs Weasley piped up from behind them for the first time. Rose ignored her, gripping the railing tightly as she leaned over to look more closely at the faces of the adults below. Beside her, Padfoot whined.

"No." she denied. "The cup wasn't meant to be a portkey. Look at them."

She searched out her aunt, found her close to the edge of the maze, her attention on Dumbledore as well as she realised something was wrong and quickly slipped her wand out of her pocket. "Expecto Patronum!"

A silver tigress slipped from the end of her wand and regarded her curiously. "Go to Aunt Min, tell her the cup was a portkey, all of the competitors were taken and the organisers look more worried than they should." She said urgently. The animal bounded away, attracting more attention than Rose would have liked as it raced to her aunt, who listened intently and instantly raised her eyes to meet Rose's once it had vanished.

Rosalie gestured to people below her, grabbing her back from her seat and beginning to push through the crowds. "Come on Padfoot!"

"Rose wait!" Hermione followed in her wake. "What are you going to do?"

"I have no idea. But I can't just stand around and wait."

"Then I'm coming too."

It took them a while to climb out of the crowds of people, even longer to do so while ensuring they didn't lose Sirius at the same time. When they finally had, they climbed down as quickly as they dared until they were on the ground once again, Sirius whining as he ran ahead of them.

Hermione gripped her hand tightly, fear beginning to creep into her when she saw the panic on the faces of the people around them. " _Tata!_ " Rose called, pulling Hermione along with her. "Where are they?"

"We don't know." Minerva ushered them and Sirius away from Dumbledore and Fudge, worry lines furrowing her face. "The cup wasn't supposed to be a portkey- there was supposed to be an enchantment that instantly destroyed the maze and neutralised the creatures within when triggered by someone touching it."

"So someone tampered with it." Rose's mouth was set in harsh line.

"Yes." Sighed her aunt, allowing herself to run a hand over her Goddaughter's hair. "They have no idea where they are."

Hermione frowned, tilting her head as she thought. "But-" she began but was cut off when a crack echoed through the air.

"Harry!"

Rose didn't stop to think, didn't wait, just tore her hand from Hermione's and bolted towards her brother. Dumbledore was there, trying to make sense of the garbled half sentences three of the competitors were gasping out. Harry was clutching at something, and as she got closer she could see that it was Cedric, lying motionless. Dumbledore was attempting to coax him to release his grip on the boy, but not having much luck as Harry mumbled half sentences and merely tightened his grip.

"Harry. Harry, come on." Rosalie stepped forward, crouching by him and touching his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. "You did it Harry, you brought him home. Let Dumbledore take care of him now."

He released his grip and shoved himself to his feet in one movement but almost immediately stumbled, falling into her as his knees gave way. "She was right!" He gasped. Rose struggled to keep them both upright, confusion washing through her.

"Who was right about what?"

His fingers dug into her arms, desperation shining on his face. " _Maman_. She was right. Voldemort is back."

Rose froze. "What?" She whispered.

"He's back. Wormtail... There was this spell. Cedric… He's back."

Rose felt terror wash through her. "You're sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Harry snapped. Behind them, Fleur was speaking in rapid French to her parents, gesturing wildly with her right hand while her left was cradled against her body while Krum was stoic, jaw clenched as he knelt in the grass, breathing heavily through the pain of his own injuries.

Harry was still struggling to remain standing, and although years of dance and defence meant that Rose was much stronger than she looked, she was also very small for her age and Harry was fairly muscular. She was struggling to stop them both crashing to the floor when she felt an arm on her back, stabilising her.

"Steady lass. Let's get him up to the school, away from these crowds. He needs to lie down."

Alastor Moody stared down at her with his one good eye, and every instinct in her screamed to run away. But that was ridiculous- even Sirius had described how trustworthy the man was. She was overwrought and stressed, she decided, and nodded to him.

"Thanks."

It was only now that she registered the shrieks and cries of the people around him, the yelling of officials and the sobbing of a woman she thought was Cedric's mother. Hermione was comforting Gabrielle, her parents fussing over their elder daughter who was swaying slightly on the spot, exhaustion lining her face as she nodded to whatever they were saying. A larger crowd now blocked Cedric and Viktor from view.

Carefully, she and Moody manoeuvred Harry out of the crowds, the glare of the older man shielding him from the prying questions until they were alone and in silence. Harry struggled to get his legs to work, they kept giving way beneath him and refusing to lift up properly while his mind spun and his concentration wavered. Across the lawn, past the lake and the Durmstrang ship, Harry heard nothing but the heavy breathing of the man helping him walk and the lighter breaths of his sister as he fought to concentrate enough to put one foot in front of the other.

"What happened, Harry?" the man asked at last as he and Rose lifted Harry up the stone steps.

"Cup was a Portkey," answered Harry as they crossed the entrance hall. "Took me and the others to a graveyard… and Voldemort was there… Lord Voldemort..."

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Up the marble stairs…

"Bugger- Pomphrey'll be with the Diggory boy. This way lass. The Dark Lord was there, Harry? What happened then?"

"Killed Cedric… they killed Cedric. We were hiding. Knew it would be bad- why would there be a portkey? But Wormtail snuck behind us… killed Cedric, would kill us all if we didn't drop our wands…"

"And then?"

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Along the corridor…

"Made a potion…. got his body back..."

"The Dark Lord got his body back? He's returned?"

"And the Death Eaters came… and then we duelled. ..."

"You duelled with the Dark Lord?"

Rose clutched at him convulsively as she supported his weight while Moody searched in his pocket for something. " _Mon dieu…_ "

"Got away… couldn't get to the others… my wand did something funny... I saw my mum and dad... they came out of his wand..."

"In here. Harry ... in here, and sit down... You'll be all right now… drink this..." Harry heard a key scrape in a lock and felt a cup being pushed into his hands as Rose lowered him into a chair. He tuned his head to search out her face.

"They said they were happy _Maman_ took me in, happy I had you." He told her. "They never thought I didn't love them as well…"

"Drink it... you'll feel better…" Moody encouraged. "Come on, now. Harry, I need to know exactly what happened..."

"Can't it wait?" Rose protested, crouching by Harry's side.

"I need to know, lass." Moody helped tip the stuff down Harry's throat; he coughed, a peppery taste burning him. Moody's office came into sharper focus, and so did Moody and Rose... both of his eyes were fixed unblinkingly upon Harry's face.

"Voldemort's back, Harry? You're sure he's back? How did he do it?" he asked while Rose gripped his hand.

"He took stuff from his father's grave, and from Wormtail and me." said Harry. His head felt clearer; his scar wasn't hurting so badly; he could now see Moody's face distinctly, even though the office was dark. He could still hear screaming and shouting from the distant Quidditch field as he tightened his grip on his sister's hand.

"What did the Dark Lord take from you?" questioned Moody.

"Blood," said Harry, raising his arm. His sleeve was ripped where Wormtail's dagger had torn it. Moody let out his breath in a long, low hiss.

"And the Death Eaters? They returned?"

"Yes," said Harry. "Loads of them... knew there was going to be a lot, but I never dreamt there would be that many."

"How did he treat them?" Moody asked quietly. "Did he forgive them?"

But Harry had suddenly remembered. He should have told someone- Dumbledore, his aunt… he should have said it straightaway -

"There's a Death Eater at Hogwarts! There's a Death Eater here- they put my name in the Goblet of Fire, they made sure I got through to the end-" Harry tried to get up, but Moody and Rose pushed him back down.

"I know who the Death Eater is," his teacher said quietly.

"Karkaroff?" said Harry wildly. "Where is he? Have you got him? Is he locked up?"

"Karkaroff?" said Moody with an odd laugh. "Karkaroff fled tonight, when he felt the Dark Mark burn upon his arm. He betrayed too many faithful supporters of the Dark Lord to wish to meet them… but I doubt he will get far. The Dark Lord has ways of tracking his enemies."

"Karkaroff's gone? He ran away? But then- he didn't put my name in the goblet?"

"No," said Moody slowly. "No, he didn't. It was I who did that."

Harry heard, but didn't believe even as he felt Rose stiffen beside him. "No, you didn't," he said. "You didn't do that… you can't have done..."

"I assure you I did," said Moody and his magical eye swung around and fixed upon the door, and Harry knew he was making sure that there was no one outside it. At the same time, Moody drew out his wand and pointed it at Harry. "Don't think about it girl."

Rose had her own wand drawn and pointed at the man, but hesitated at the danger to her brother, unsure she could protect him in time. "Drop it!" Moody ordered and reluctantly she did so, already planning a way to reach her back up wand. But she never got the chance- Moody stepped forward and backhanded her so hard she flew across the room and crashed into the wall. She crumpled, heard Harry call her name and slipped into the dark.

* * *

It was like she was underwater, the sounds around her muffled and distorted, her whole body throbbing. She could hear Harry's voice though… Harry!

"The Dark Lord didn't manage to kill you. Potter, and he so wanted to." whispered Moody as her eyes sprang open. "Imagine how he will reward me when he finds I have done it for him. I gave you to him- the thing he needed above all to regenerate- and then I killed you for him. I will be honoured beyond all other Death Eaters. He will restore my magic, your death will return my magic to me. I will be his dearest, closest supporter… closer than a son..."

Moody's normal eye was bulging, the magical eye fixed upon Harry. Rose took the opportunity to slid her hand to her leg- the holster on her right thigh was empty, he had her spare wand, she realised with a silent curse. She reached backwards instead- in the small of her back, a gun was nestled in its wrappings, completely impractical to get to in a fight but well-hidden with added enchantments. Carefully, she moved so that she was bending backwards, her fingers moving with precision to tug exactly where needed to release the gun so that it fell silently into her hand.

Moody was still talking, but she wasn't listening, bringing her arm around and up to aim. But her hand was trembling, her shoulder protesting the movement and she couldn't reach the position she needed to. Harry had noticed her by now, and lashed out, kicking with both his legs into the midsection of the man looming over him, sending him stumbling backwards before he himself rolled off of the chair onto the floor.

Rosalie rose up onto her knees, both hands now supporting the gun that she fired once, twice, three times. The bullets weren't exactly on target- she was shaking, her whole body bruised and objecting to movement but two hit him, one into his shoulder a little lower than she'd been aiming for and the other into the top of his remaining good leg, higher than she wanted but enough to send him crashing to the floor. Harry leapt forward, grabbing his wand and summoning both of Rose's at the same time.

"Don't move!" he warned. The man hissed, clutching his leg in agony.

"What have you done to me?!"

Harry looked at him grimly. "A little muggle magic." He glanced over to Rose, who had the gun resting in her lap as she sat on her heels, her other hand cradling the rapidly darkening bruise on her face.

Harry stepped forward and raised his foot, and brought it down over his nose. It crunched, and the man shrieked. "That was for my sister." He said mildly. And then pressed his foot over the wound on the man's shoulder. He shrieked, writhing. "And that was a warning. Now, who are you?"

"You will pay Potter! The Dark Lord has returned and he will conquer you!"

"Yeah yeah, so you said." He pressed his foot down, waiting a few seconds before releasing him and waiting for the screeches to subside.

Suddenly, with a great splintering and crashing, the door of Moody's office was blasted apart and Harry glanced up with casual curiosity to see Professors Dumbledore, Snape and his aunt standing in the doorway, Dumbledore in front with his wand outstretched.

"You're a little late." He commented dryly, but for the first time he understood why people said Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared. The look upon Dumbledore's face as he stared down at the trembling form of Mad-Eye Moody was more terrible than Harry could have ever imagined. There was no benign smile upon Dumbledore's face, no twinkle in the eyes behind the spectacles. There was cold fury in every line of the ancient face; a sense of power radiated from Dumbledore as though he were giving off burning heat.

He stepped into the office, shock appearing as he registered the scene in front of him but Harry payed him no attention, rushing instead to Rose's side. "Are you alright?"

" _Moi_? I'm fine- even took a short nap in the middle there." She joked weakly, leaning gingerly against him. Their aunt knelt next them, hands wavering in the air as if she didn't quite know what to do with them.

"Come along, you two." she whispered. The thin line of her mouth was twitching as though she was about to cry. "Come along… hospital wing ..."

"No." said Dumbledore sharply.

"Dumbledore, look at them – they've been through enough tonight…"

"They will stay, Minerva, because Harry needs to understand." said Dumbledore curtly. "Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. He needs to know who has put him through the ordeal he has suffered tonight and why."

"I know why." Harry said roughly. "Moody is crazier than the psychopaths he chased for a living."

"This is not Alastor Moody," said Dumbledore quietly. "You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed you from my sight after what happened tonight. The moment he took you, I knew - and I followed."

"Well, thanks for stepping in sooner." Harry said disdainfully, shifting to stand and helping a wincing Rose to do so as well.

Dumbledore bent down over Moody's limp form and put a hand inside his robes. He pulled out Moody's hip flask and a set of keys on a ring. Then he turned to Professors McGonagall and Snape. "Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess, and then go down to the kitchens and bring up the house-elf called Winky. Minerva, kindly go down to Hagrid's house, where you will find a large black dog sitting in the pumpkin patch. Take the dog up to my office, tell him I will be with him shortly, then come back here."

"I will not." Minerva said immediately, supporting Rose with a careful arm around her lower back. "I'm not leaving them. Sirius is with Miss Granger- they will find their way here."

Snape- thankfully- didn't hear this- he had turned at once and left the office. Dumbledore shot his former friend an unreadable look, but walked over to the trunk with seven locks, fitted the first key in the lock, and opened it. It contained a mass of spell-books. Dumbledore closed the trunk, placed a second key in the second lock, and opened the trunk again. The spellbooks had vanished; this time it contained an assortment of broken Sneako-scopes, some parchment and quills, and what looked like a silvery Invisibility Cloak. Harry watched emotionlessly as Dumbledore placed the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth keys in their respective locks, reopening the trunk each time, and revealing different contents each time. Then he placed the seventh key in the lock, threw open the lid, and Harry raised an eyebrow.

He was looking down into a kind of pit, an underground room, and lying on the floor some ten feet below, apparently fast asleep, thin and starved in appearance, was the real Mad-Eye Moody. His wooden leg was gone, the socket that should have held the magical eye looked empty beneath its lid, and chunks of his grizzled hair were missing.

"I guess Sirius was right about him." Harry commented to Rose, who nodded weakly. Dumbledore climbed into the trunk, lowered himself, and fell lightly onto the floor beside the sleeping Moody. He bent over him.

"Stunned - controlled by the Imperius Curse and very weak," he said. "Of course, they would have needed to keep him alive. Harry, throw down the imposter's cloak - he's freezing. Madam Pomphrey will need to see him, but he seems in no immediate danger." Harry did as he was told; Dumbledore covered Moody in the cloak, tucked it around him, and clambered out of the trunk again. Then he picked up the hip flask that stood upon the desk, unscrewed it, and turned it over. A thick glutinous liquid splattered onto the office floor. "Polyjuice Potion, Harry," said Dumbledore. "You see the simplicity of it, and the brilliance. For Moody never does drink except from his hip flask, he's well known for it. The imposter needed, of course, to keep the real Moody close by, so that he could continue making the potion. You see his hair ..." Dumbledore looked down on the Moody in the trunk. "The imposter has been cutting it off all year, see where it is uneven?

"But I think, in the excitement of tonight, our fake Moody might have forgotten to take it as frequently as he should have done ... on the hour… every hour…We shall see."

"Yeah. No thanks." Harry said bluntly, ignoring the look of surprise he got from him as he turned to his aunt. "Is Madam Pomphrey in the hospital wing?"

Minerva hid her smile. "She is."

"Excellent. I believe Rose and I are both in need of her services."

"Harry-" Dumbledore began but Harry turned exhausted eyes to him.

"I don't care." He said flatly. "Maybe I will tomorrow, when I don't feel as if I'm going to collapse any minute or Rose doesn't look to be in constant pain, but right now I couldn't give a flying f-"

"Harry!" Rose said sharply, and he stopped.

"A flying monkeys." He amended. Rose looked confused, mouthing what he'd said in bewilderment but her aunt merely ushered her forward gently, hands hovering in case she fell as she limped painfully.

"Come along, both of you." She said gently, supporting Harry with a hand to his back. "Come along."

 ** _Qu'est-ce que c'est- what is it?_**


	26. Chapter 26

They were less than halfway to the hospital wing when Rose collapsed. It was only by luck that Minerva happened to glance at her just in time to see her eyes roll back and her legs give out, and so was able to catch her before she hit the floor. She levitated her carefully, shooting a look at Harry.

"At some point, we're going to discuss why she had a gun, could shoot it and why you seem totally at ease with it." She said conversationally, reaching out to steady him with a hand on his back. Harry smiled weakly.

"Do we have to?"

She smiled at him, and he could see the stark relief in her eyes which turned to worry when he stumbled, barely catching himself. "Harry?"

"I think I need to see Madam Pomphrey." He mumbled, leaning against her heavily. She urged him on, anxious, knowing she couldn't safely levitate both him and Rose if he fell completely unconscious as well and that she certainly wasn't strong enough to carry even Rose.

"Come on, _a leannan,_ just a little further." She implored, feeling her stomach drop when he went limp and she was forced to lower him to the floor, Rosalie wavering unsteadily in the air.

"Minerva?" she turned, relieved when she spotted Snape standing in front of her with an unreadable expression.

"Severus… Will you help me?"

He inclined his head, striding forward and gesturing for her to remove the charm from Rosalie, catching the tiny girl as she fell. He straightened, cradling her in his arms and raising an expectant eyebrow. "Well? Are you bringing him or not?"

Minerva shot him a disapproving look, levitating Harry and hurrying to the hospital wing, where she found the Fleur, Krum and their families already resting. "Poppy!" she called.

The matron looked up in concern at the worry in her friend's voice, eyes widening when she saw the scene. "On a bed with both of them!" she ordered, rushing over and waving a wand over Harry first. Minerva hovered anxiously. "Min, out." She ordered.

"But-"

"Out!"

Minerva scowled as the matron ushered her out and drew the curtains around the two beds, but was quickly distracted by the appearance of Hermione, who was struggling to hold back a large black dog. "Professor!" she whispered frantically, trying not to alert anyone else in the hospital wing. "Help!"

Minerva hurried over, pushing the dog out of the hospital wing and closing the door behind her. "Sirius, enough!" she hissed. "Are you trying to get caught?!"

Sirius backed into the dark shadows cast by the candles and transformed to human form. "No one will recognise my animagus form!" he protested. "Why was Rose unconscious? And what's wrong with Harry?"

Minerva bit back her frustration. "Moody isn't who we thought he was. The real Mad-Eye has been kept in a trunk for the past year- the man who has been teaching is an imposter."

"Then who is he?" asked Hermione in alarm.

"I don't know. We left before the polyjuice wore off." Minerva pinched the bridge of her nose, then paused. "Actually… Miss Granger, would you go and see if you can find out? They were in Moody's office. The fake Moody, that is."

"Of course professor."

The girl hurried away, leaving Minerva to glare at Sirius. "If you get caught, you will get the dementor's kiss and the children will be heartbroken!"

He glared back. "You can't protect them all the time- they're not children anymore."

"I was the one who helped raise them, Sirius Black, don't you dare try that with me!" she snapped. "I am fully aware they're not children. For one thing, they both seem to be perfectly comfortable around guns... did you have something to do with that?"

He looked blank. "A gun? Isn't that a muggle thing? Harry had one in the shack last year…"

"It's a weapon." She nodded. "It's not even legal in this country!"

"How do they have one then?" Sirius questioned in confusion.

"I don't know, but not only do they have one, Rose at least can use it." She frowned. Then looked horrified. "Bugger, she still has it! If Poppy finds it…"

She spun on her heal and raced back into the hospital wing. After a moment, Sirius transformed and trotted in after her, slinking under the curtain and stretching to look up onto the bed. Harry was still, and unconscious but he looked peaceful, he noted, before performing the same process with Rose.

He had to duck under the bed, however, when the curtain was swept open to reveal Madam Pomphrey and McGonagall, who looked uncharacteristically strained. "He was put under the crucio curse?" she asked as they came in. Pomphrey nodded.

"And is suffering the after effects." She added, fussing around Rose. "But other than that, exhaustion and shock is his main problem. As for this young lady, she's suffered major bruising to her back, shoulders and hips. She also hit her head very hard, which I'm concerned about."

"She'll be okay, though?"

"Yes- when she wakes up I'll give her a salve for the bruising and keep her here for a while to monitor her head injury." Pomphrey sniffed. "Can you smell dog?"

"Dog?" Minerva looked faintly alarmed, glancing down to see Padfoot's tail poking out from under the bed. "No. I can't smell anything." She denied, kicking it under slightly harder than she needed to.

"Hm."

The matron walked off to check on Fleur and Minerva bent down, grabbed the tail and pulled. With a yelp, Sirius scrambled from under the bed and whined slightly, looking at her pitifully.

"I told you to stay outside."

His ears drooped.

"I'll tell Poppy you're extremely well trained. Don't make me a liar, Mr Black." And with that, she turned on her heel and walked out.

Sirius blinked, unable to process what had happened for a long moment before he gave a happy yip, used his teeth to pull back the curtain separating the sibling's beds and curled up on a chair between them.

* * *

Harry woke up, so warm, so very sleepy that he didn't open his eyes, wanting to drop off again. The room was still dimly lit; he was sure it was still night time. He was, however, less sure which night it was exactly.

Then he heard whispering around him.

"They'll wake him if they don't shut up!"

"What are they shouting about? Nothing else can have happened, can it?"

Harry opened his eyes blearily, wishing he could slip back into sleep instead. Someone had removed his glasses, and all he could see was the fuzzy outlines of Mrs Weasley, Bill and Neville close by. Mrs Weasley was on her feet.

"That's Fudge's voice," she whispered. "And that's Minerva McGonagall's, isn't it? But what are they arguing about?"

Now Harry could hear them too: people shouting and running toward the hospital wing. A small noise from his left had him glancing down, surprise to see Snuffles sitting there with a slowly wagging table. "Hi. What's going on?" he whispered. The dog looked at him, lifting his front in a shrug, as if to say 'no idea'.

"Regrettable, but all the same, Minerva -" Cornelius Fudge was saying loudly.

"You should never have brought it inside the castle!" yelled Professor McGonagall. "When Dumbledore finds out -"

Harry heard the hospital doors burst open. Unnoticed by any of the people around his bed, all of whom were staring at the door as Neville pulled back the screens, Harry sat up and put his glasses back on.

Fudge came striding up the ward. Professors McGonagall and Snape were at his heels. "Where's Dumbledore?" Fudge demanded of Mrs Weasley.

"He's not here," said Mrs Weasley angrily. "This is a hospital wing. Minister, don't you think you'd do better to -"

But the door opened, and Dumbledore came sweeping up the ward. "What has happened?" he said sharply, looking from Fudge to Professor McGonagall. "Why are you disturbing these people? Minerva, I'm surprised at you - I asked you to stand guard over Barty Crouch -"

"Barty Crouch?" questioned Harry, causing everyone to glance at him. Everyone but his aunt, who was seething.

"There is no need to stand guard over him anymore, Dumbledore!" she shrieked. "The Minister has seen to that!"

Harry had never seen his aunt lose control like this. There were angry blotches of colour in her cheeks and her hands were balled into fists; she was trembling with fury.

"When we told Fudge that we had caught the Death Eater responsible for tonight's events," said Snape, in a low voice; he seemed to feel his personal safety was in question. "He insisted on summoning a dementor to accompany him into the castle. He brought it up to the office where Barty Crouch -"

"I told him you would not agree, Dumbledore!" McGonagall fumed. "I told him you would never allow dementors to set foot inside the castle, but -"

"My dear woman!" roared Fudge, who likewise looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him, "as Minister of Magic, it is my decision whether I wish to bring protection with me when interviewing a possibly dangerous -"

But Professor McGonagall's voice drowned Fudge's. "The moment that - that thing entered the room," she screamed, pointing at Fudge, trembling all over, "it swooped down on Crouch and – and-"

Harry felt a chill in his stomach as his aunt struggled to find words to describe what had happened. He did not need her to finish her sentence. He knew what the dementor must have done. It had administered its fatal kiss to Barty Crouch. It had sucked his soul out through his mouth. He was worse than dead.

"By all accounts, he is no loss!" blustered Fudge. "It seems he has been responsible for several deaths'."

"But he cannot now give testimony, Cornelius," said Dumbledore. He was staring hard at Fudge, as though seeing him plainly for the first time. "He cannot give evidence about why he killed those people."

"Why he killed them? Well, that's no mystery, is it?" cried Fudge. "He was a raving lunatic! From what Minerva and Severus have told me, he seems to have thought he was doing it all on You-Know-Who's instructions!"

"Lord Voldemort was giving him instructions, Cornelius," Dumbledore said. "Those people's deaths were mere by-products of a plan to restore Voldemort to full strength again. The plan succeeded. Voldemort has been restored to his body."

Fudge looked as though someone had just swung a heavy weight into his face. Dazed and blinking, he stared back at Dumbledore as if he couldn't quite believe what he had just heard. He began to sputter, still goggling at Dumbledore. "You-Know-Who… returned? Preposterous. Come now, Dumbledore ..."

"Why is it?" said a voice from Harry's left, and he jumped as he turned to face Rose, who was sitting up with her legs over the edge of the bed, leaning on Snuffles for support. "There have been people saying for years that he's going to return. Supporters and opposers alike."

"We heard Barty Crouch confess." Agreed Dumbledore. "Under the influence of Veritaserum, he told us how he was smuggled out of Azkaban, and how Voldemort- learning of his continued existence from Bertha Jorkins- went to free him from his father and used him to capture Harry. The plan worked, I tell you. Crouch has helped Voldemort to return."

"See here, Dumbledore," said Fudge, and Harry was astonished to see a slight smile dawning on his face, "you - you can't seriously believe that You-Know-Who - back? Come now, come now… certainly, Crouch may have believed himself to be acting upon You-Know-Who's orders - but to take the word of a lunatic like that, Dumbledore ..."

"When the contestants touched the Triwizard Cup tonight, they were transported straight to Voldemort." said Dumbledore steadily. "He witnessed Lord Voldemort's rebirth. I will explain it all to you if you will step up to my office." Dumbledore glanced around at Harry and saw that he was awake, but shook his head and said, "I am afraid I cannot permit you to question anybody tonight."

Fudge's curious smile lingered. He too glanced at Harry, then looked back at Dumbledore, and said, "You are - er - prepared to take Harry's word on this, are you, Dumbledore?"

"But it isn't just Harry is it?" Rose interrupted. "There were three other people who haven't been dragged through the mud by a malicious reporter. Are you going to call them liars as well?"

Fudge looked outraged. "Now, see here girl, I am your minister of magic and you will show me-!"

"You are not my minister." Rose interrupted disdainfully. "I'm from France."

There was a moment's silence, which was broken by Sirius growling. His hackles were raised, and he was baring his teeth at Fudge. "Certainly, I believe Harry and the other contestants." said Dumbledore, veering back to the previous question. His eyes were blazing now. "I heard Crouch's confession, and I've heard Harry's account of what happened after he touched the Triwizard Cup; the two stories make sense, they explain everything that has happened since Bertha Jorkins disappeared last summer."

Fudge glanced at Harry before answering. "You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, on the word of a lunatic murderer, and a boy who . . . well..." Fudge shot Harry another look, and Harry suddenly understood.

"You believe Rita Skeeter, Mr. Fudge," he said quietly. Fudge reddened slightly, but a defiant and obstinate look came over his face.

"And if I do?" he said, looking at Dumbledore. "If I have discovered that you've been keeping certain facts about the boy very quiet? A Parselmouth, eh? And having funny turns all over the place -"

"Merlin was a parselmouth." Rose said in amusement. She was standing now, and Harry rose to stand with her, their hands entwining.

"Girl, I'm warning you-" Fudge was red, and stepped forward towards her but was quickly halted by a snarl from Sirius.

"Listen to me, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, taking a step toward Fudge, and once again, he seemed to radiate that indefinable sense of power that Harry had felt after Dumbledore had stunned Crouch. "Harry is as sane as you or I. That scar upon his forehead has not addled his brains. I believe it hurts him when Lord Voldemort is close by, or feeling particularly murderous."

Fudge had taken half a step back from Dumbledore, but he looked no less stubborn. "You'll forgive me, Dumbledore, but I've never heard of a curse scar acting as an alarm bell before. ..."

"No one has ever survived the killing curse before." Neville pointed out, ears reddening when everyone looked at him but he held his chin up, not backing down.

"Look, I saw Voldemort come back!" Harry kept his tone measured. "I saw the Death Eaters! I can give you their names. Lucius Malfoy -"

Snape made a sudden movement, but as Harry looked at him, Snape's eyes flew back to Fudge. "Malfoy was cleared!" said Fudge, visibly affronted. "A very old family - donations to excellent causes -"

"Oh _mon dieu._ " Rose rubbed her nose. "They're all idiots. Harry, why couldn't you have just gone to Beuxbatons? It would have been so much less trouble."

"Macnair!" Harry continued.

"Also cleared! Now working for the Ministry!"

"Avery - Nott - Crabbe - Goyle -"

"You are merely repeating the names of those who were acquitted of being Death Eaters thirteen years ago!" said Fudge angrily. "You could have found those names in old reports of the trials! For heavens sake, Dumbledore - his tales are getting taller, and you're still swallowing them - the boy can talk to snakes. And you still think he's trustworthy?"

"You fool!" Professor McGonagall cried. "Cedric Diggory! Mr. Crouch! These deaths were not the random work of a lunatic!"

Fudge, now matching her anger was going purple. "It seems to me that you are all determined to start a panic that will destabilize everything we have worked for these last thirteen years!"

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had always thought of Fudge as a kindly figure, a little blustering, a little pompous, but essentially good-natured. But now a short, angry wizard stood before him, refusing, point-blank, to accept the prospect of disruption in his comfortable and ordered world - to believe that Voldemort could have risen. "Voldemort has returned," Dumbledore repeated. "If you accept that fact straightaway, Fudge, and take the necessary measures, we may still be able to save the situation. The first and most essential step is to remove Azkaban from the control of the dementors -"

"Preposterous!" shouted Fudge again. "Remove the dementors? I'd be kicked out of office for suggesting it! Half of us only feel safe in our beds at night because we know the dementors are standing guard at Azkaban!"

"The rest of us sleep less soundly in our beds, Cornelius, knowing that you have put Lord Voldemort's most dangerous supporters in the care of creatures who will join him the instant he asks them!" said Dumbledore. "They will not remain loyal to you, Fudge! Voldemort can offer them much more scope for their powers and their pleasures than you can! With the dementors behind him, and his old supporters returned to him, you will be hard-pressed to stop him regaining the sort of power he had thirteen years ago!"

Fudge was opening and closing his mouth as though no words could express his outrage. "The second step you must take - and at once," Dumbledore pressed on, "is to send envoys to the giants."

"Envoys to the giants?" Fudge shrieked, finding his tongue again. "What madness is this?"

"Professor Dumbledore." Said Hermione quietly. "I think, sir, that you're fighting a losing battle here."

All of a sudden, he seemed weary and tired. "I fear you may be right, Miss Granger. You are blinded by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius! You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be! Your dementor has just destroyed the last remaining member of a pure-blood family as old as any - and see what that man chose to make of his life! I tell you now-take the steps I have suggested, and you will be remembered, in office or out, as one of the bravest and greatest Ministers of Magic we have ever known. Fail to act - and history will remember you as the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have tried to rebuild!"

"Insane," whispered Fudge, still backing away. "Mad . . ."

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Rose said in astonishment. Her aunt looked at her sharply.

"Rosalie!"

"No, auntie, it's true. He is. There's no such thing as pure blood, minister, even muggle children can tell you that every human being on earth evolved from a handful of primates in Africa! At some point, magic evolved just as brown hair or blue eyes did and it has nothing to do with blood purity!" Rose cried. " _Mon dieu,_ you're going to render yourselves completely infertile! Has nobody wondered why the birth rates of so called pure bloods has been declining? It's because the DNA is becoming so similar the chromosomes are no longer compatible with each other. You can't produce viable offspring, and the few who can can't produce fertile offspring! You're killing yourself, because of some medieval belief that some people's blood is purer than others!"

And then there was silence.

Madam Pomphrey was standing frozen at the foot of Harry's bed, her hands over her mouth. Mrs Weasley was still standing over Harry, but was agape and staring at Rose as almost everyone in the room was. "She's right minister. Any muggle child could tell you that." Hermione agreed, maybe exaggerating a little but wanting to get the point across.

"It's why there are laws in the muggle world against marrying relatives." Dean agreed.

"It's how they can clone and breed farm animals." Colin Creevey spoke up bravely. Harry hadn't realised half his friends were crammed into the hospital wing and were witnessing everything in stunned silence.

It seemed Fudge could think of no answer to this. He rocked backward and forward on his small feet for a moment and spun his bowler hat in his hands. Finally, he said, with a hint of a plea in his voice, "He can't be back, Dumbledore, he just can't be ..."

Snape strode forward, past Dumbledore, pulling up the left sleeve of his robes as he went. He stuck out his forearm and showed it to Fudge, who recoiled. "There," said Snape harshly. "There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate, and Apparate, instantly, at his side. This Mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff s too. Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord's vengeance. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure of a welcome back into the fold."

Fudge stepped back from Snape too. He was shaking his head. He did not seem to have taken in a word Snape had said. He stared, apparently repelled by the ugly mark on Snape's arm, then looked up at Dumbledore and whispered, "I don't know what you and your staff are playing at, Dumbledore, but I have heard enough. I have no more to add. I will be in touch with you tomorrow, Dumbledore, to discuss the running of this school. I must return to the Ministry."

He had almost reached the door when he paused. He turned around, strode back down the dormitory, and stopped at Harry's bed. "Your winnings," he said shortly, taking a large bag of gold out of his pocket and dropping it onto Harrys bedside table. "Three hundred and thirty three Galleons. There should have been a presentation ceremony, but under the circumstances... well, the three of you are splitting the prize.

He crammed his bowler hat onto his head and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The moment he had disappeared, Dumbledore turned to look at the group around Harry's bed. "There is work to be done," he said. "Molly... am I right in thinking that I can count on you and Arthur?"

"Of course you can," said Mrs. Weasley. She was white to the lips, but she looked resolute. "We know what Fudge is. It's Arthur's fondness for Muggles that has held him back at the Ministry all these years. Fudge thinks he lacks proper wizarding pride."

"Then I need to send a message to Arthur," said Dumbledore. "All those that we can persuade of the truth must be notified immediately, and he is well placed to contact those at the Ministry who are not as short sighted as Cornelius."

"I'll go to Dad," said Bill, standing up. "I'll go now."

"Excellent," said Dumbledore. "Tell him what has happened. Tell him I will be in direct contact with him shortly. He will need to be discreet, however. If Fudge thinks I am interfering at the Ministry -"

"Leave it to me," said Bill. He clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder, kissed his mother on the cheek, pulled on his cloak, and strode quickly from the room.

"Minerva," said Dumbledore, turning to Professor McGonagall, "I want to see Hagrid in my office as soon as possible. Also - if she will consent to come - Madame Maxime."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Rosalie, Harry, back to bed!" she ordered. "Snuffles, make sure they stay there!"

"Poppy," Dumbledore said to Madam Pomphrey, "would you be very kind and go down to Professor Moodys office, where I think you will find a house-elf called Winky in considerable distress? Do what you can for her, and take her back to the kitchens. I think Dobby will look after her for us."

"Very - very well," said Madam Pomfrey, looking startled, and she too left. Dumbledore made sure that the door was closed, and that Madam Pomphrey's footsteps had died away, before he spoke again. "And now," he said, "it is time for two of our number to recognize each other for what they are. Sirius ... if you could resume your usual form."

The great black dog looked up at Dumbledore, then, in an instant, turned back into a man. Mrs. Weasley screamed and leapt back from the bed. "Sirius Black!" she shrieked, pointing at him.

"Mum, shut up!" Ron yelled. "It's okay!"

Snape had not yelled or jumped backward, but the look on his face was one of mingled fury and horror. "Him!" he snarled, staring at Sirius, whose face showed equal dislike. "What is he doing here?"

"He is here at my invitation," said Dumbledore, looking between them, "as are you, Severus. I trust you both. It is time for you to lay aside your old differences and trust each other."

Harry thought Dumbledore was asking for a near miracle. Sirius and Snape were eyeing each other with the utmost loathing.

"I will settle, in the short term," said Dumbledore, with a bite of impatience in his voice, "for a lack of open hostility. You will shake hands. You are on the same side now. Time is short, and unless the few of us who know the truth do not stand united, there is no hope for any us."

There was no movement. "Oh for heaven's sake." Muttered Rose, and hit Sirius on the back of the head, wincing as pain rippled through her.

"Ow!"

She glared at him and gestured stiffly towards Snape. "Now!" she ordered fiercely. He sighed, and pressed his lips together.

"Sniv… Severus." He began sincerely. "I am… truly sorry, for how we treated you at school." Snape's eyes widened. "We were nothing but bullies, and we shouldn't have done what we did. And you have my deepest apologies." Snape was gaping as if he had gone mad. "I've heard over the past few months what you've done for Harry and Rose… and Emmeline, and so you also have my deepest gratitude."

Very slowly Sirius moved towards Snape and held out his hand. The teacher took it, and they both let go extremely quickly.

"Apology accepted." He said stiffly.

"My dear girl." Dumbledore murmured to Rose. "I do believe you're some kind of miracle worker. Now…" he raised his voice once more. "I have work for each of you. Fudge's attitude, though not unexpected, changes everything. Sirius, I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher - the old crowd. Lie low at Lupin's for a while; I will contact you there."

"You can contact me through Harry." Said Sirius firmly. "I'm staying where I am." He nodded to Dumbledore, transformed again into the black dog, and ran the length of the room to the door, whose handle he turned with a paw. Then he was gone.

"Severus," said Dumbledore, turning to Snape, "you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready... if you are prepared ..."

"I am," said Snape. He looked slightly paler than usual, and his cold, black eyes glittered strangely.

"Then good luck," said Dumbledore, and he watched, with a trace of apprehension on his face, as Snape swept wordlessly after Sirius. It was several minutes before Dumbledore spoke again.

"My girl." He turned to Rose with a smile. "Am I correct in thinking that you are Emmeline's daughter?"

Rose hesitated. "I am." She confirmed. Dumbledore smiled widely.

"You are so very much like your mother." He commented. "Is she available to help?"

Pain flashed across her face. "No professor. My mother… there was an accident several years ago…"

"I'm so sorry." He said sincerely, assuming the worst. Neither Rose nor Harry corrected him. Rose was swaying however, leaning against Harry and all of a sudden Dumbledore noticed this. "You should both get back in bed." He instructed. "I'm sure Molly can take care of you until Madam Pomphrey is back."

He vanished, and Rose and Harry exchanged a long look. " _Il ne sais pas sur tu._ " She commented as Neville provided her something to lean on as she went back to bed.

"Let's keep it that way." Harry said tiredly. There was a loud slamming noise, and they all looked over to where Hermione was standing by the window. She was holding something tight in her hand.

"Sorry." she whispered.

"I'm confused. Who is Barty Crouch?" Rose questioned. Harry shrugged.

"No idea."

"He was a death eater." Mrs Weasley answered reluctantly.

"Did he enter my name into the goblet? And kidnap Susan and me?"

"Harry dear-"

"He admitted to entering your name." Hermione interrupted. "Professor McGonagall said he tried to curse Dumbledore when you were unconscious but nothing happened. He'd lost his magic."

"He entered Harry into the tournament- the contract was with him." Rose realised. Hermione nodded.

"And when the contract was broken-"

"He lost his magic instead of me." Harry finished, yawning. "Shame Fudge is such an idiot. If he were alive…"

"They'd probably just call him crazy and ignore what he was saying." Mumbled Rose, already half asleep.

"True." Harry conceded. He glanced at the other people in the room. "And now the rest of you should all go get some sleep as well. I'm going to be unconscious for a while."

He glanced around once more to check that Rose was really alright and then closed his eyes, pressing back onto his pillows and thinking no more.

 ** _Il ne sais pas sur tu- He doesn't know about you_**


	27. Chapter 27

**_Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!_**

 ** _Although this story is mostly written, I have no problem with changing bits if people want it to go in a different direction or want to see a particular situation or scene, so feel free to tell me if you do! X_**

When Harry woke the next morning still in the hospital wing, it was to find his sister and his aunt huddled together on her bed whispering frantically, apparently arguing as quietly as possible.

"What's wrong?" he yawned, blinking at them blearily.

"Aunt Min thinks we should tell everyone how you were adopted." Rose explained.

"Rose, you called me Auntie in front of everyone yesterday. They already know that you and Harry are close and that I've been hiding his home situation. It's not going to take them long to put the pieces together." Their aunt sighed, crossing to sit on Harry's bed.

"Does it even matter?" asked Harry. They stared at him. "I mean, they already know Rose and I are close and that I live in France, they know you're involved in some way auntie. They know more at this point than they don't- is telling them or not telling them the rest going to make that much difference?"

"I suppose not." Agreed Rose reluctantly. She sat next to their aunt, wincing slightly and leaning against her. Minerva put an arm around her, stretching out her other to take Harry's hand.

"I know you're both scared." She said softly. "We're all scared. But you have been preparing for this for over a decade. And you're not alone- Harry, you have the biggest friendship network I've ever seen. I don't think a Gryffindor has ever managed to befriend Slytherins before. And they are all going to be right beside you."

Harry bit his lip. "That's what I'm worried about. He's coming after me- I don't want anyone to be hurt because of that."

"Voldemort and the death eaters are going to hurt people anyway, _a leannan._ "

Harry sighed. "Stupid prophecy." He muttered. His aunt smiled sympathetically, glancing up when the doors to the hospital wing opened to reveal Hermione peeking in.

"Are you up for visitors?" she asked. Harry nodded with a smile, and she came in properly, closely followed by the four youngest Weasleys, the Gryffindors from his year group, Lee, Hannah, Susan, Ernie, Padma Patil, Blaise Zabini, Tracey Davies and Daphne Greengrass as well as multiple other students from varying year groups. His aunt let out a small laugh.

"And I think that proves my point." She gave his hand a squeeze, kissed Rose's head and stood up. "Don't get too loud." She warned them all. "Or Madam Pomphrey will force you to leave."

She swept out, and in her wake Hermione scurried over to Harry. "Look." She handed him the prophet of that day, which featured a picture of him on the front page.

"Uh oh…" Rose peered over.

"What does it say?" asked Lavender curiously. Harry grinned.

"Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived today released a statement describing his intentions to have infamous reporter Rita Skeeter charged with multiple crimes related to her writing for this newspaper, The Daily Prophet." He read out. Ginny gasped.

"Can you do that?" she questioned, blushing at the attention.

"Yep." Harry looked pleased. "On behalf of everyone she vilified in her articles."

Ron glanced at Seamus. "Vili-what?" he muttered. The other boy shrugged.

"Three pages? The story about me doing it is worth three pages?" exclaimed Harry in shock as he flipped through the paper. Susan smirked.

"You should have seen the piece they did on 'the-boy-who-lived goes to Hogwarts."

Harry gaped at her. "You are joking?"

"Nope."

Rose was laughing silently, pressing her lips together as a slightly dazed Harry turned to look at her. "These people are crazy." He sounded a little out of it and she patted his leg comfortingly.

"Shall we get back to the dark lord on the loose?" she suggested.

"Right." He nodded. "We need to find a way to get the competitors story in the public view, without being influenced by Fudge or Rita Skeeter."

"It might be easier to do a series of stories." Said Padma thoughtfully. "To try to reduce the impact of Rita Skeeter's remarks before telling them everything."

Hermione looked inquiringly at Harry. "Will Fleur and Viktor agree to that?"

"We will." Fleur said from their right. She was standing with Krum, and even dressed in hospital gowns, battered and bruised, they looked determined.

"They tried to kill us. Ve vant to help." Krum agreed.

"Then we need a plan." Dean said. "Goals and aims."

Harry blinked. "We?"

"Come on mate, you didn't really think you'd be alone in this did you?" George questioned.

"You're not getting rid of any of us." Fred agreed. "We chose our side when this started."

"Our year group was born in the final year of the war. We've seen the aftermath, the pain and grief. We will fight to prevent it again." Blaise said quietly. "All of us. We might have different views, different beliefs but things are changing. And we want to change with them."

"Colin Creevey borrowed a pensieve, and showed everybody in the hall this morning Rosalie's speech." Lee explained. She looked startled.

"What?"

"What you said to Fudge about genetics." Hermione explained. "It caught the attention of a lot of people. Muggleborns and half-bloods have been explaining it further ever since. One of the muggleborn Ravenclaws has even set up a lesson scheduled for later today. Everybody welcome."

Harry grinned. "Go Rose."

She blushed slightly. "I probably shouldn't have lost my temper with him. But he is an idiot."

"Don't apologise." Padma smiled. "There hasn't been this much inter-house cooperation since… well, never."

"It's true." Agreed Fay.

"Are zere ozzer newspapers in England zat we could give interviews to?" Fleur wondered.

"Not really. There are magazines, like Witch Weekly, but the Prophet is so well known that any others have died out." Susan answered.

"I'm not sure interviews in Witch Weekly is going to help our cause." George pointed out dryly.

"I might have an idea…" Ginny said hesitantly, flushing red when everyone looked at her. "What about the Quibbler?"

There were scoffs from more than one person. "No one takes that seriously!" exclaimed Parvati.

"No one even reads it!" agreed Lavender. Ginny swallowed.

"No. But it's small, and the daughter of the editor is in my year. They live near us. I know Mr Lovegood would print the interview how Harry and the others would want it, and it would only take a few of us throughout the school to spread publicity which everyone would then spread to their parents."

"She's right." Rose said. "A smaller magazine would be better, it's less corruptible."

Harry felt excitement stir with him. "Ginny, the girl in your year…"

"Luna."

"Would Luna be willing to help us?"

She nodded slowly. "I think so. She's bullied quite a lot, because she's not… normal."

"Looney Lovegood not normal? There's an understatement." Snickered Parvati. Rose frowned.

"You know, it wasn't so long ago that it was considered 'not normal' for you all to want to be friends with other houses." She said quietly. "Who's to say what is and isn't normal?"

There was a long silence.

"I think Luna is our best bet." Harry said eventually. "Ginny, would you mind talking to her?"

"I'll go now." The girl scrambled up and darted out the room.

"Miss Delacour and Mr Krum, get back into bed this instant!" Madam Pomphrey had crossed with Ginny in the doorway and was glaring at the two, who quickly scurried back into their beds. The matron frowned with disapproval at the crowd of people but said nothing, until she spotted Rose. "Oh for- You, back to bed as well."

Rosalie- strangely- smiled. "You deal with Harry every time he does something stupid? I like her already." She whispered to her brother, who stuck his tongue out at her as she went.

"This is a hospital wing, not a common room." Madam Pomphrey grumbled. "Miss Vance, how on earth are you even upright, let alone walking about fully coherent? You must be in incredible pain."

Harry let out a laugh. "She's a ballet dancer Madam Pomphrey. She puts herself through torture on a daily basis."

"Which also explains the damage to your feet, I suppose."

Rose shrugged, giving her a grin. "We suffer for our art."

"Well, you won't be dancing at all if we can't get this bruising down." The matron pulled the curtains around the bed, and Harry looked mildly amused at the look of horror he caught on Rose's face just before she did so.

"So do we give articles on other stuff before we talk about you-know-who?" Cedric asked from across the room.

"Ve vill hav to." Krum said. "Za public are very fickle. Zay vill vant all the details, but vill call us liars if we portray them in a vay that zay do not like."

"But zey will call us liars also eef we wait too long to tell zem." Fleur pointed out.

"Exactly." Harry sighed.

Susan shrugged. "So you'll just have to do things very carefully."

"What about like a special in a muggle newspaper?" Hermione suggested. Harry looked blank.

"I don't read a lot of muggle newspapers, 'Mione."

"They have five or six day specials," she explained. "Where there's a build up to a story on the final day with smaller stories on the preceding days."

"That could vork." Viktor agreed.

The door to the hospital wing opened again and Ginny appeared, leading a pretty blonde girl. "Everyone, this is Luna." She introduced, smiling encouragingly at the girl.

"Hello Luna." Harry greeted. "Did Ginny explain to you why we wanted to talk to you."

The girl regarded him solemnly. "No. But I suspect that it is something to do with the way you tricked the organisers of the Triwizard tournament, which I think was quite ingenious by the way."

"Thanks. And you're not too far off… We have a proposition for you and your father."

* * *

A month later, everything was still pandemonium. Rose had returned to France, healed and in regular contact with more than one person she'd met during the task. Rita Skeeter was officially wanted for questioning on unlawful practices, but had vanished leaving questions behind for the editors of the Prophet from the suspicious public. And the Quibbler had weekly released a series of exclusive interviews with the contestants of the tournament, the first with Krum, the second Fleur and the third with Harry. The fourth had been released the morning of the leaving feast- in it, the three described their experiences with Voldemort and Wormtail. It had caused uproar. The truth about Sirius was due to be explained in the edition the week after, and Harry was even considering using the magazine to release the truth about his upbringing into public forum.

It was with a heavy heart that Harry packed his trunk up in the dormitory on the night before his return to _Le place des Anges_. He was dreading the Leaving Feast, which was usually a cause for celebration, when the winner of the Inter-House Championship would be announced. He had avoided being in the Great Hall when it was full ever since he had left the hospital wing, preferring to eat when it was nearly empty to avoid the stares of his fellow students.

At the feast, he and his friends decided to make a statement. Instead of sitting at their tables, Susan, Hannah, Blaise, Daphne, Fleur and some of her friends, Krum and some of his, Luna, Padma and a scattering of others sat at Gryffindor. The number of them meant that there were a few Gryffindors that ended up sitting at other tables due to lack of space. Above them, the usual decorations were missing. The Great Hall was normally decorated with the winning House's colours for the Leaving Feast. Tonight, however, there were black drapes on the wall behind the teachers' table. Harry knew instantly that they were there as a mark of respect to Cedric.

The real Mad-Eye Moody was at the staff table now, his wooden leg and his magical eye back in place. He was extremely twitchy, jumping every time someone spoke to him. Harry couldn't blame him; Moody's fear of attack was bound to have been increased by his ten-month imprisonment in his own trunk. Professor Karkaroff's chair was empty. Harry wondered, as he sat down, where Karkaroff was now and whether Voldemort had caught up with him.

Madame Maxime was still there, sitting next to Hagrid. They were talking quietly together. Further along the table, sitting next to Professor McGonagall, was Snape. His eyes lingered on Harry for a moment as Harry looked at him. His expression was difficult to read. He looked as sour and unpleasant as ever but Harry continued to watch him, long after Snape had looked away.

What was it that Snape had done on Dumbledore's orders, the night that Voldemort had returned? And why on earth did Harry still trust him, in some ways more so than Dumbledore? Maybe it was because he had kept his secret, he thought absently. And was still working on a treatment for Emmeline, even though he could have given up months ago.

Harry's musings were ended by Professor Dumbledore, who stood up at the staff table. The Great Hall, which in any case had been less noisy than it usually was at the Leaving Feast, became very quiet.

"The end," said Dumbledore, looking around at them all, "of another year."

He paused, and his eyes fell upon the Hufflepuff table. Theirs had been the most subdued table before he had gotten to his feet, and theirs were still the saddest and palest faces in the Hall.

"There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight," said Dumbledore, "but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here," he gestured toward the Hufflepuffs, "enjoying our feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses to Cedric Diggory."

They did it, all of them; the benches scraped as everyone in the Hall stood, and raised their goblets, and echoed, in one loud, low, rumbling voice, "Cedric Diggory."

"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff house," Dumbledore continued. "He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about. Everything you have read in the Quibbler this morning is true.

"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

A panicked whisper swept the Great Hall. People were staring at Dumbledore in disbelief, in horror. He looked perfectly calm as he watched them mutter themselves into silence. "The Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore continued, "does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so - either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."

Stunned and frightened, every face in the Hall was turned toward Dumbledore now... or almost every face. Over at the Slytherin table, Harry saw Draco Malfoy muttering something to Crabbe and Goyle. Harry frowned, but forced himself to look back at Dumbledore.

"There are other people who must be mentioned in connection with Cedric's death." Dumbledore went on. "I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter, Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum."

A kind of ripple crossed the Great Hall as a few heads turned in the direction of Gryffindor table before flicking back to face Dumbledore.

"They managed to escape Lord Voldemort," said Dumbledore. "They risked their own lives to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. They showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honour each of them."

Dumbledore turned gravely to where the three sat close together and raised his goblet once more. Nearly everyone in the Great Hall followed suit. They murmured their names, as they had murmured Cedric's, and drank to them. But through a gap in the standing figures. Harry saw that a few of the Slytherins had remained defiantly in their seats, their goblets untouched. Standing with his goblet however, was Malfoy, who was pale but had a determined set to his jaw. Their eyes met through the crowd and he tipped his goblet ever so slightly towards Harry, giving him the smallest of nods.

When everyone had once again resumed their seats, Dumbledore continued, "The Triwizard Tournament's aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the light of what has happened - of Lord Voldemort's return - such ties are more important than ever before."

Dumbledore looked from Madame Maxime and Hagrid, to Fleur and the Beauxbatons students, to Viktor and the Durmstrangs at the Slytherin table. "Every guest in this Hall," said Dumbledore, and his eyes lingered upon the Durmstrang students, "will be welcomed back here at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again - in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.

"It is my belief- and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken - that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst.

"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

* * *

Harry felt exhausted as dragged his trunk into his aunt's office, surprising her as she looked up from the papers on her desk. "Harry?" she frowned in concern, coming around her desk to press her hand to his forehead. "Are you okay?"

He shook his head. "I… I can't face the train. I just want to go home…"

Her face softened. "I understand. And it's technically against the rules but… go ahead."

"Thanks auntie." He leant against her for a long moment, shooting her a grateful smile. "By the way- do you know why I can see thestrals now but couldn't before? I went to see Hagrid this morning and almost had a heart attack."

She frowned. "You couldn't?"

"No."

She looked thoughtful for a moment, then realisation hit her. "To see them you have to witness and understand death. You were too young to understand when your parents died."

"But I understood when Quirrell died." He pointed out.

"Only to a point." She sighed. "You were so caught up with the fact that he was dead that you didn't consider the consequences of you-know-who sticking out of his head, and you didn't understand fully how and why he died thanks to Dumbledore. Therefore, I don't think it counted. With Mr Diggory… well, it did."

Harry nodded slowly. "I see. Thanks." He smiled weakly at her, pressing a kiss to her cheek before he murmured the phrase that shrunk his trunk, pocketed it and grabbed a handful of floo powder. "Are you coming home tonight?"

"As soon as I finish here." She promised, and with a weary smile he threw the powder into the fire and stepped through.

Many stops later, he finally arrived home, sighing as he toed off his shoes and chucked his jacket over the hook. "Hello?"

Missy popped in front of him. "Master Harry, Master Harry! You is being home!" she flung her arms around his legs, and he felt the band around his chest loosen just a little.

"Hi Missy." He knelt down to hug her properly. "How are you?"

"Missy is very well, thank yous. Miss Rosie and Master Doggy are in the attic."

"Thanks."

He ran up, peering around the door and blinking in surprise. "Whoa…"

"Harry! You're early!" Rose looked relieved to see him, scrambling up from her spot on the floor and rushing to embrace him, before he found himself engulfed in a second hug by Sirius.

"Welcome home pup."

"Thanks. What is all this?" he questioned, gazing around at the room.

"We figured the best way to fight Voldemort was to look at what he did last time and attempt to work out how he works." Rose explained. "We have timelines, information on his followers, suspected accomplices, places and things important to him and as much information as we could dig up on Tom Riddle."

"The main problem is once Tom Riddle left school, he kept an amazingly low profile until Voldemort turned up." Sirius continued.

Harry felt himself smiling stupidly at the both of them, and Rose noticed. "What?"

He shook his head, he wrapped an arm around her. "Nothing. Can we… can we leave this? Let's just go out and eat lunch- my treat- and think about something else for now."

"Sure we can." Sirius grinned. "Get your shoes everyone."


	28. Chapter 28

_**This will be my last post before Christmas, so MERRY CHRISTMAS!**_

 _ **I'm so amazed that you're all reading and enjoying this- you're all wonderful. I know i'm terrible at replying to reviews but I really am so grateful for you all, especially those of you who repeatedly review (your commentary makes me smile!).**_

 _ **Have fun and stay safe, everyone! 3 X**_

"I still don't see why you have to go." Harry said crossly to his aunt.

"Because I'm least likely to be spotted." She explained in an exasperated tone. "Rose, pass me that books on curses, would you?"

She did, handing it silently to her before returning to her seat on the bed. "But everyone knows you're Dumbledore's right hand woman! You're in more danger!" Harry argued.

"Harry please." she sighed.

A voice from the doorway had them all looking up. "Harry enough." Sirius said gently. "It's already been decided. Minerva, this came by owl for you from Poppy."

"Thanks." She placed the small package in her bag, zipping it closed. " _A leannan_ , I'll be back before you know it. Sirius and Missy will both be here."

"I'm not worried about that." He muttered. She smiled, crossing to him and pulling him into a hug.

"I will be fine." She promised, pressing a kiss to his forehead before giving Rose the same treatment. "Look after each other." She ordered. "All of you."

Sirius smiled tightly at her. "I've got them." He assured her, squeezing her hand. She nodded, grasping her bag and looking at them.

"Don't look so worried. Everything's going to be okay."

Harry watched her go, dropping onto the bed beside Rose and sighing. "I have a really bad feeling about this."

"You're not the only one." She replied.

"Both of you, stop. Voldemort hasn't done anything in the entire month Harry has been home- your aunt will be fine. Now, aren't you supposed to be going to dance?"

They mumbled their acknowledgements, dragging themselves up and grabbing their things. Harry was waylaid by a letter from Hermione, which not-so-subtly demanded to know where he was. As far as Harry could tell from the vague hints in their letters, Hermione and Ron were in the same place, presumably at Ron's parents' house.

"Harry! Are you coming or not!?" Rose yelled up the stairs, and he quickly threw the letter onto his desk and hurried downstairs, where he found Rose sticking pins into her hair to hold it in its bun.

"Sorry, sorry."

They rushed to dance, making it just in time to start warm ups and earning a disapproving glare from Madame DuBois. Harry winced- the nightmares he was having meant that he wasn't getting much sleep, while his worry over Voldemort meant he was distracted during rehearsals. He was missing ques, falling out of sync and forgetting the moves. All of which meant he had been on the receiving end of Madame DuBois's wrath more than once.

He was anticipating the lecture at the end of class, standing contritely as his teacher chewed him out for almost half an hour. Rose was waiting outside, pirouetting across the hall almost lazily until he emerged.

"Don't say a word." He said grumpily, shouldering his back and waiting patiently as she quickly unlaced her shoes with practiced fingers, slinging them around her neck.

"I wasn't going to!"

"Yeah right. Come on, let's go home- I need a shower." He pulled her off the floor and they walked home, chatting about everything but Voldemort. They were only a few streets away from the floo point when Harry stopped dead, frowning as he scanned the street around them.

"Do you feel that?"

"Someone's watching us." Rose had her wand in her hand, tense as she searched for the source of the feeling.

"No… where's the light?"

Something had happened to the night. The star-strewn sky was suddenly pitch black and lightless - the stars, the moon, the misty streetlamps at either end of the alley had vanished. The distant rumble of cars and the whisper of trees had gone. The balmy evening was suddenly piercingly, bitingly cold and they were surrounded by total, impenetrable darkness, as though someone had dropped a impenetrable, icy blanket over the entire alleyway, blinding them.

He turned his head this way and that, trying to see something, but the darkness pressed on his eyes, weightless and heavy all at the same time. Harry stood still, turning his sightless eyes left and right. He was so cold that he was shivering all over; goose bumps had erupted up his arms and the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up - he opened his eyes to their fullest extent, staring blankly around, unseeing.

It was impossible… they couldn't be here… not in Paris. He strained his ears, reaching out to draw Rosalie closer to him. They would hear them before they saw them…

"Harry? _Qu'est-ce que c'est_?"

"Just shush for a-" But he fell silent. He had heard just the thing he had been dreading.

There was something on the street apart from themselves, something that was drawing long, hoarse, rattling breaths. Harry felt a horrible jolt of dread as he stood trembling in the freezing air.

"Lumos!" Rose raised her wand, pale, and shrieked as she saw the towering, hooded figures gliding smoothly towards them, hovering over the ground, no feet or face visible beneath their robes, sucking on the night as it came. Stumbling backwards, Harry raised his wand.

"Expecto patronum!"

A silvery wisp of vapour shot from the tip of the wand and the Dementors slowed, but the spell hadn't worked properly; tripping over his own feet, Harry retreated further as one Dementor bore down upon him, panic fogging his brain – concentrate! -

A pair of grey, slimy, scabbed hands slid from inside the Dementor's robes, reaching for him. A rushing noise filled Harry's ears. "Expecto patronum!"

His voice sounded dim and distant. Another wisp of silver smoke, feebler than the last, drifted from the wand - he couldn't do it any more, he couldn't work the spell.

There was laughter inside his own head, shrill, high-pitched laughter… he could smell the Dementor's putrid breath filling his own lungs, drowning him… – think… something happy…

But there was no happiness in him… the Dementor's icy fingers were closing on his throat - the high-patched laughter was growing louder and louder, and a voice spoke inside his head: 'Bow to death, Harry... it might even be painless… I would not know… I have never died…'

He was never going to see Rose or Sirius or his mum again -

And their faces burst clearly into his mind as he fought for breath. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

An enormous silver stag erupted from the tip of Harry's wand; it's antlers caught the Dementor in the place where the heart should have been; it was thrown backwards, weightless as darkness, and as the stag charged, the Dementor swooped away, bat-like and defeated. "THIS WAY!" Harry shouted at the stag. Wheeling around, he sprinted down the alleyway, holding his lit wand aloft.

He had run barely a dozen steps when he reached them: Rose was curled up on the ground, a trembling arm holding her wand out in front of her. Harry could see her mouthing the spell over and over but the second Dementor was crouching low over her, lowering its hooded head towards Rose's face as though about to kiss her.

"Rose!" he threw himself forwards, knocking into it when its eyeless face was barely an inch from Rose's and felt himself tumbling to the ground.

He opened his eyes, blinking in confusion. Because he hadn't been inside a moment ago. Or in a bed, dressed in pyjamas for that matter. He sat up, groping for his glasses and stared around him at the dark, gloomy bedroom he was in.

Where was he?

He lowered his feet to the floor, grabbing his wand from the side, tucking it into his waistband and walked over to the closed door, opening it as quietly as he could. Now, he could hear raised voices that sounded remarkably like his sister. He crept down the stairs, getting closer to the sounds before finally spotting Rose standing with her back to him, in what looked like a kitchen.

"I know perfectly well who you are, _monsieur_! You abandoned my mother despite her sending letters begging for you to help her and didn't bother to check on Harry for years despite claiming you care for him!" she snapped, crossing her arms and Harry knew that her eyes would be flashing furiously.

Despite his change of clothes, Rose was still dressed in her dance wear, although her hair was flowing down her back now, instead of in the neat bun it had been in before. "Rosie?" he questioned.

She spun, relief flashing over her face. "Harry!"

He wasn't sure who had moved first, but she was in his arms and he in hers, and each was clutching at the other tightly.

"What happened?"

She pushed him away and slapped at his chest, anger in her eyes. "You tackled a dementor, _imbécile!_ What were you thinking?" she demanded.

"That you were about to be kissed and I wasn't sure Prongs was going to get there in time." He shrugged. She slapped at him again, before wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I thought you were dead." She murmured, voice hoarse and choked. "You weren't moving, and you were grey."

" _Je suis desolè_." He whispered, resting his chin on her shoulder and tightening his arms. She pulled away after a minute and for the first Harry realised there was a crowd of people in the room beyond the doorway. "Where are we?" he questioned. Rose snored derisively.

"The headquarters of the order of the phoenix."

He blinked. "What?"

"You heard."

"Hello Harry." Said a tentative voice from behind them, and Harry felt himself stiffen.

" _Monsieur._ " He inclined his head at Lupin who, now he thought about it, he realised was who Rose had been arguing with. "What is the order of the phoenix?"

"Never you mind about that dear." Mrs Weasley came bustling over and Rose looked at her scathingly.

"From what I can gather, it's Dumbledore's club for fighting Voldemort." She said as if the older woman hadn't spoken. "Not entirely sure what exactly it is that they do."

"The order of the phoenix…" Harry snickered. "What's that supposed to mean? What was it reborn from?"

"Harry dear…" Mrs Weasley began, but he'd already turned away from her.

"Professor Moody!" he exclaimed in surprise. "How are you, sir?"

"I don't know so much about 'Professor'." The man growled. "Never got round to much teaching, did I?"

"I suppose not, _monsieur_." Harry said in amusement, then realised something. "Wait, where are we exactly? Not France… and how did we get here?"

"You're in London." Said a woman he didn't recognise. She looked to be the youngest there; she had a pale heart-shaped face, dark twinkling eyes, and short spiky hair that was a violent shade of violet. "Wotcher, Harry." She greeted. "I'm Tonks."

"Hello. How did we get here?" he glanced at Rose, who had her arms crossed. There was a silence. "Well?"

"Harry, you have to understand that we were concerned for your safety." Lupin began. His eyes narrowed.

"Somebody tell me right now." He ordered in a low tone.

"We… tracked you to your dance school." Lupin explained uncomfortably, before rushing to carry on. "Hermione knew that Rose was a ballet dancer and we knew her last name so it was just a case of finding a Rosalie Vance in France, where we knew you were because you're fluent and then we found you registered as well under the same surname so we've been keeping an eye on you for the past week or so."

There was a long silence. "So you're telling me," Harry said dangerously. "that to satisfy your own curiosity and Dumbledore's hero complex, you placed my sister and me in danger by leading anyone who was looking right to us!" Harry's fists clenched and his eyes flashed. "My mother was right- she told me not to tell anyone any detail about my life but stupidly, I thought I could trust people."

"Harry-" Mrs Weasley began but he cut her off.

"I don't want to hear it. How dare any of you put us in danger? We've spent so long protecting ourselves and you ruined it all because you can't accept that I'm not the little boy who needs protecting that you thought I would be!" he was yelling, so angry the room had a red haze around it. Then he felt a hand touch his back, and he didn't have to turn to know it was Rose.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and letting it out slowly. "We're leaving. Right now." He told them, no room for argument in his tone.

"Harry you can't leave." Mrs Weasley told him.

"You have no right to stop us! You're not one of my mothers nor our guardian." He snapped. Tonks shifted uncomfortably.

"No, Harry, she means you _can't._ " she emphasised the last word and Harry felt a chill snake down his spine. He grabbed Rose's hand, causing her to yelp as he rushed down the hallway of the house and flung open the front door. He couldn't go through it however- it was like slamming into a brick wall. Rose frowned, raising her hand up and pressing it against the invisible barrier.

"A ward tailored to us. Should we be flattered they think so highly of us?"

"It's for your own good." Mrs Weasley was wringing her hands together as she stood a little behind them. "Dumbledore constructed it- You're safe here. We knew that Rose could go and get help but that would put her in danger too so... You're both safe here." She finished lamely.

Anger darkened Harry's face.

"Safe? Don't delude yourself _Madame_ \- we're prisoners."

"Harry-" she began but he walked past her up the stairs, still gripping Rose's hand and went into the room he'd woken up in, eyes narrowing as he took it in.

Now that he did, he realised someone had obviously been sleeping in the other bed in the room, and after spending four years sharing a room with Ron he knew what the mess the other boy made looked like.

"Have they suggested where you are to sleep?" He asked. She nodded.

"I've been given a pop up bed in the room with Hermione and Ginny." Her tone was slightly sarcastic, and Harry grabbed his bag and exited the room.

"I think not." He muttered. "What's upstairs?"

"More rooms that haven't been cleaned yet from what I understand."

Rose grabbed her own packed bag from the room she'd been briefly shown earlier and they wandered upstairs into an even narrower hallway, their spare, untraceable wands held out. All of the bedrooms up here were dustier than even downstairs, and Harry suspected they'd been out of use even longer than the rest of the house.

Nestled into the corner of the floor was a strange attic-type room, shaped like an L, with sloping ceilings and a relatively large window that overlooked the overgrown back garden. There were already two twin beds in there, with two wardrobes and desks that had a bookshelf placed between them. On the far side of the room sat another door that lead to a bathroom, which as far as they could tell was an en suite. Harry glanced at Rose.

"What'd you think?"

She smiled tiredly. "Let's get to work."

They left their dance bags by the door and began to clean, throwing open the window and methodically working around the room, vanquishing unwanted guests as they went. It took them several hours but eventually the room was habitable, and they each collapsed onto a bed.

"Ballet, Dementors and heavy cleaning. Not the day I had expected." Harry groaned. Rose made a noise of agreement.

"How long until they find us, do you think?"

"Depends how long it takes Ron to blab to mummy that I'm not in the room."

Rose rolled over quickly and bolted upright. "Missy?" She called suddenly. Harry looked at her strangely.

"Missy's not here." He reminded her.

She sighed. "I know. I just wondered whether the house elf thing worked internationally. They must have realised something is wrong by now, but apparently it doesn't. Or the wards are tailored to house elves as well."

"Sirius will have realised we're missing." Harry said.

"Yes." She agreed. "But if he questions anyone, he'll be told that 'we're somewhere safe" and be expected to just follow orders. How long are they going to keep us here anyway? You'll have to return to Hogwarts eventually but what about me?"

Harry smirked. "Oh I wouldn't worry." He grinned. "Aunt Min's going to find out and can you imagine her reaction when she does? We won't be here long after that."

Rose smiled in amusement, her exhaustion being pushed to the side for a moment.

It was a week later though, and they were still waiting for help. After Mrs Weasley had burst into the room, shrieking at them less than an hour after they'd finished, Rose had constructed her own ward over the door of their bedroom that kept everyone else out. The ward that Dumbledore had erected prevented any mail from reaching them and there were no birds in the house that they could use.

Hermione and Ron had pleaded with Harry to talk to them from outside the door, until he'd cast a silencing charm around the room before he cursed them. That had provoked more shrieking from Mrs Weasley on the use of magic the next time he'd ventured from the room in search of food- he and Rose were taking turns.

During these little trips, each made a point of speaking to no one. They simply went to the kitchen, found enough food for a couple of days and retreated back to their warded room where they spent the days attempting to break Dumbledore's ward or practicing their various hobbies.

On the eighth day, however, Rose opened to door with the intent on going on a food run, only to pause and frown.

Harry noticed. "Rose?"

"There are more people here." She explained. "Come listen."

He levered himself up off of the floor and crossed beyond the silencing charm, listening for only a moment when he heard the same murmur that Rose had. By silent agreement, they crept down the stairs onto the landing of the first floor, surprised to see that the other teens in the house were all crowded around of the stairs, whispering.

"Hermione, your bloody cat keeps eating the ears!" Fred hissed.

"Well it's not his fault!" she retorted in a loud whisper.

Ron scowled at them. "Shush!"

George was frowning, holding string to his ears. "They're coming out!" he cried in alarm and in unison the five scrambled backwards. It was Hermione who noticed them, eyes widening.

"Harry, Rose!"

The two found themselves being stared at five pairs of eyes.

"Alright mate?" Ron greeted tentatively. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Who's down there?" he demanded.

"It's an order meeting." Hermione answered quickly. He sent her a withering look.

"Obviously." He drawled. "Which people are there?"

"Well, mum, dad and Bill are there." Ron replied nervously.

"Tonks, Lupin and Shacklebolt." Ginny added.

"Mundungus Fletcher." George remembered.

Fred spoke at the same time. "Dumbledore."

"There are two dozen or so that we've met, but we think there are others that don't come around here." Hermione explained.

"Oh, and Snape's usually here as well." Ron curled his lip slightly but Harry was looking at Rose, the same thought running through both their minds. Downstairs, people were murmuring quietly as they left in pairs or small groups, until eventually Lupin was left in the hallway with Tonks, Dumbledore, the three Weasleys and Snape.

Harry nudged Rose. " _Il t'aime plus._ " He encouraged. She nodded, tugging her skirt down anxiously as she ran lightly down the stairs.

"Professor Snape?" she called. The man stopped just as he was about to leave, turning round with a look of surprise.

"Hello brat." He greeted.

His tone was undeniably familiar and it was everybody else's turn to look surprised, looking uncertainly between the two as she stood on tiptoes, gesturing for him to lean down so she could whisper in his ear.

"Please help. They're keeping Harry and I here; they won't let us leave."

She looked at him pleadingly as he frowned almost imperceptibly and inclined his head slightly. She gave him a small, relieved smile, stepping back up the stairs as he spun, robes billowing around him.

"Is everything okay, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, eyes narrowing. The man smiled at him blankly.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

He strode out before anyone could say another word and irritated, Dumbledore turned to confront Rose, only to find the stairs empty. He blinked, looking up in search of her but Hermione shrugged at him from the top of the stairs.

"They went back to their room." She informed him and was surprised when his jaw clenched, and he stalked out without another word.

 ** _Je suis desolè- I'm sorry_**

 ** _Il t'aime plus- He likes you more_**


	29. Chapter 29

_**Hi everyone! I hope you had a great Christmas! Mine was... mixed. Anyway, the poll is still open if you would like to vote but otherwise enjoy! X**_

Harry and Rose were still stuck at that house three days later. Harry was convinced Snape had turned his back on them- Rose didn't want to believe that was true, but was growing more disheartened by the day. Frustrated, they'd commandeered one of the other bedrooms and cleared it of furniture, turning it into a dojo and/or dance studio, depending on what they were using it for in the hopes of combatting their cabin fever.

They hadn't bothered warding it, only putting up silencing charms when they were in there and it took until the third day for anyone to realise. Although they each had been conjuring up clothes to wear, they both still had the sports outfits they'd been wearing when attacked and days together in an enclosed space meant that they were both eager to work out their frustrations. So eager, that they forgot to set up the charm, and found at the end of a spar that they had an audience.

"Wow… you're both really talented." Hermione gushed. Rose and Harry exchanged a long look, the latter shrugging slightly.

"Rose is the talented one- she just makes me look good." He said tightly, slipping off his shoes.

Mrs Weasley tutted. "Don't put yourself down dear."

"How did you move like that?" Ginny asked shyly. "You looked… weightless."

"Practice and training." Rose answered shortly. "Harry, did you have to kick so hard?" she winced as she pressed her fingers into her shoulder. His eyes snapped up, concerned.

"Did I hurt you?"

"Just bruises. But it's going to be stiff, I can already feel it." She grimaced.

"Go soak it, try to ward the worst off."

"I know- don't forget to dig the knives out of the wall. Excuse me." She pushed past the small crowd at the door, Mrs Weasley paling when she heard 'knives'. He'd just turned to them and Harry heard her yelp. "Hey!"

"Rosie!?"

" _Laissez-moi passer_!"

"Rose!" he shoved past the group in the doorway, catching sight of her blonde hair down the stairs and rushing after them. Her wrist was being held in the grip of Remus Lupin, who was bent almost double, clutching his abdomen. "Let her go!"

Rose was already twisting, using her body weight to put pressure on Lupin's grip and forcing him to release her. Harry surged forward, kicking down on his kneecap to force him backwards and catching Rose's arm to pull her backwards.

"Remus!" Mrs Weasley shrieked in horror.

"What the hell are you doing?" Harry demanded. Lupin wheezed.

"Just… wanted to… talk…"

"And you do that by forcibly dragging a thirteen year old down the stairs?!" Harry spat. Lupin was leaning heavily against the wall as shrieks rose up from beneath them.

"'Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place!"

Rose rubbed her wrist almost absently as she peered over the banisters. "What is that?"

Curious, they descended the next set of stairs, blinking in surprise when they saw a portrait by the front door which had previously been covered by curtains. She was screaming, waking up the other portraits in the hall who had begun to join in.

"Um… _excusez-moi madame?_ " Rose said tentatively. She peered out at them, still screaming.

" _Madame_? Are you okay?" Harry asked, wincing at the noise. She trailed off, gaze fixed on Rose.

"I know you… you're the spitting image of your mother."

"You knew my mother, _Madame_?" she questioned curiously.

"Julianne Reyer." She sniffed. "Went back to France and got married after school."

Rosalie's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, _non madame,_ she was _ma grand-mère._ "

The woman harrumphed. "Grandmother? Didn't know Emmeline was old enough to have a child, let alone one as old as you." Rose exchanged a surprised glance with Harry at this woman's knowledge. "What is your name girl?"

"Rosalie, _Madame_. Rosalie Vance."

"Vance, eh? So your parents aren't married." She glared at her suspiciously. "Who is your father, or did he abandon his bastard as well as sire it?"

Rose's jaw clenched, but before she or Harry could answer a voice did so for them.

"I am."

Both their heads snapped to the side in surprise as Sirius came stalking in the front door. "Sirius!" exclaimed Harry in relief. The man caught them both in a tight embrace as the portrait snarled.

"YOOOOU!" she howled, her eyes popping at the sight of the man. "Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!"

Sirius grimaced, pushing Harry and Rose behind him slightly. "'I see you've met my mother."

"Your mother!?" Rose exclaimed.

"Yup. Moony, want to give me a hand here?" he struggled to close the curtains and Lupin limped forward to help him. Together, they forced them shut and the shrieking stopped. Mrs Weasley was still on the stairs, pale, staring at Rose.

"She- you- she's your daughter?!" she spluttered. "You?"

The commotion had summoned others of the order to the scene and Mundungus, Tonks, Bill and Mr Weasley, Kingsley, Dedalus Diggle, and at least half a dozen others who Harry didn't recognise were all gaping at Sirius in shock.

Sirius simply regarded them coolly. "Yes. Me. And I don't appreciate her or my godson being kidnapped. Rose, Harry, go and get your things."

Obediently, they pushed past the small crowd and ran up the stairs to grab their bags, both having been careful to keep them as packed as possible. Once they were gone, Sirius turned his gaze on the groups in front of him.

"Sirius-" Lupin began uncertainly but Sirius glared at him.

"I don't care. Hermione and Weasley children, go upstairs." He ordered the gritted teeth. When they hesitated, his eyes narrowed. "NOW!"

They scampered off and he spun on the adults. "How dare you keep two teenagers locked up against their will? How dare you think you have any right to dictate their actions whatsoever?!" he shouted. "Harry is still recovering from facing Voldemort- oh, grow up, it's just a name." he snapped when most of them flinched. "He is still recovering from having a friend murdered in front of him! And you think it's okay to abduct him and his sister after putting their lives in danger through your interference, to hold them in this bloody house, of all places? A house full of dark magic? Quite frankly, Rose and Harry have been looking after themselves for years without any help from adults whatsoever and they've been doing a damn better job than any of you have! I don't care that they're my children, I don't care that you didn't know that they are; none of you have any right to interfere in their lives! And that includes Dumbledore, despite his beliefs to the contrary!"

He was so angry his cheeks were red, his eyes wild but when he spotted Rose and Harry redescending the stairs, his expression softened. "Are you ready to go?"

"Merlin yes." Harry nodded his head vigorously, provoking a weak smile from his godfather.

"Kreacher!" Sirius called shortly, and the house elf popped in front of him, eyes going wide before he bowed.

"Blood traitor master has returned for the second time." He muttered. "Kreacher had hoped that once was enough for him. Oh, how Kreacher's poor mistress would despair if she knew…"

"Kreacher, get rid of the ward keeping Harry and Rose here." Sirius ordered, ignoring the mumbling and the dirty look this got him.

"Sirius, be sensible!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed, having apparently recovered somewhat from his rage.

"They're safer here!" Lupin protested.

"They were safer before we caused the dementors to find out they were in France." Tonks pointed out. They all stared at her and she shrugged. "It's true! They've spent the whole summer perfectly safe, and then get attacked less than a week after we finally track them down? You can't tell me you all believe that's coincidence."

Her hair changed from pink to red as Sirius tilted his head at her. "Who are you?"

"Tonks."

He blinked. "Andi's daughter? Nymphadora?"

"Don't call me Nymphadora!" she snapped. He grinned.

"Oh, I like you, little cousin." He laughed. "Tell Andi I say hi, yeah?"

"Will do." She sighed, crossing her arms.

Sirius reached out to take Rose's bag from her. "Kreacher?"

"It is done, Master." The elf bowed, muttering: "Blood traitor dares to order Kreacher around but takes other blood traitors with him… but not the mudblood, the mudblood remains, oh my poor mistress..."

"Let's go." Sirius glared at Kingsley when he stepped forward as if to try to stop them.

"Sirius!" Remus exclaimed, attempting one last time to dissuade his friend from taking the children but he was silenced by the cold glare he received.

"James and Lily would be so disappointed in you." Sirius said lowly. He spun on his heel and swept out, catching Harry and Rose and taking them with them, hustling them away down the street, almost running. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get here- it took Snape a while to track down Minerva to tell her and then she had to come all the way back to France in person to tell me…"

"Is she at home?" asked Harry hopefully.

"Yeah- got herself a few scrapes though so she's laid up in bed." Sirius shook his head slightly in amusement. "You should have seen her, trying to get up so she could come with me."

He led them into an alley, peering around and giving a satisfied nod. "Right, this should do. Ready?"

He held out his arms for each of them to take, and with a loud crack, he apparated them away.

* * *

Half an hour later, they were home, Sirius having apparated them to the floo point in the hopes that no one would be able to follow them through so many different points of travel. Rose was nestled against Minerva, who was lying in bed battered and bruised with a broken hip while Harry was sprawled across the end of the bed.

"Neither of you noticed someone following you?" their aunt asked, wincing as the skelegrow did its work.

"No." sighed Harry. "But… we were looking for death eaters and such, who tend to stand out in a certain way."

"I think… when nothing happened for weeks on end, we dropped out guard a bit." Rose admitted. "We're always on alert- Gideon would have a meltdown if we were not, but we stopped taking extra precautions to the ones that we take usually."

Minerva sighed. "Well, there's not much we can do about it now. Did anything important happen while you were at Grimmauld Place?"

"Grimmauld Place?" questioned Harry, puzzled.

"That's where the headquarters is." Sirius supplied from the doorway. He came in, four ice cream floats bobbing in front of him and dispersing themselves to each person.

"Oh."

"Lupin seemed to be under the impression that Harry was going to have to go to court." Rose remembered. Harry looked surprised.

"When was that?"

"While you were still unconscious- it's what sparked the argument you overheard when you woke up." She explained. "He kept saying we'd used underage magic, and that I had to tell him everything I could if I wanted him and Dumbledore to help us."

"You didn't perform any magic in England did you?" asked Minerva in alarm.

"Yes, but the headquarters is under all sorts of wards." Harry assured her.

"My brother and I used to perform magic all the time." Sirius confirmed.

Rose patted her hand. "Besides _tata_ , we have been doing it for over a week. If anything was going to happen, it would have already done so."

She sighed. "I supposed so." She accepted. "Now I'm more worried about why there seem to dementors after you two."

"They were probably after Harry; I just happened to be there." Rose pointed out.

Minerva narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't make me feel better."

Just then, Missy popped into view and handed both Sirius and Minerva letters. "Some owlies are delivering these for yous!"

"Thanks Missy." She opened it, and groaned. "Bugger."

"What is it?" Sirius frowned.

"Dumbledore was unable to find a defence teacher, so the ministry has appointed one."

Harry looked up from his breakfast. "Can they do that?"

"They can now." She said grimly. "Delores Umbridge... She works directly for Fudge, I believe."

"That's bad. The ministry interfering at Hogwarts is going to cause no end of trouble." Rose lowered her glass, appetite gone.

"Wait, I thought that Hogwarts was founded to be separate from the ministry?" Sirius interjected.

"It was, but they've passed a new decree stating that in the event that the headmaster is unable to fill a teaching position, the ministry will appoint a teacher."

"What do we do?" Asked Harry.

"Contact everyone." Rose answered. He looked questioningly at her. "Every student in the school, Harry, get a message to. Warn them what the ministry is trying to do, what the consequences will be and remind them of Cedric. Tell them to be on their best behaviour- we might not like him, but Dumbledore's presence is protecting the school at the moment- if the ministry ousts him, it will get worse."

"How am I supposed to send letters to everyone student on the school?" He demanded. She sent him a withering look.

"Just send them to the most popular people in each house and tell them to pass it on. It will reach almost everyone, and the people left over will hear about it on the train."

Harry sighed but nodded, rubbing his scar and flopping backwards.

"This year is going to be complicated, isn't it?"

"It may be more so." Sirius said, staring at his open letter. Harry tilted his head.

"What is it?"

Sirius had an amazed look on his face. "I'm being given a trial."

"Really?"

"That's brilliant!"

"Sirius, that's wonderful." Smiled Minerva warmly. The man let out an incredulous laugh, still gazing at the letter.

"I'm getting a trial- I'm going to be free!" he laughed. He scrambled off of the bed and plucked Rose from where she sat, causing the girl to yelp as she was swung around the room as Sirius chanted "I'm getting a trial, I'm getting a trial."

"Put me down, you loon!" she giggled and was placed on her feet, though that didn't stop Sirius from dancing around the room, almost yanking her off balance. Harry chuckled, rescuing her now half-empty glass and placing it on the side. He found himself being pulled towards the pair, and the three of them continued to dance around the room while Minerva laughed at them and Missy stood in the doorway and stared.

 _ **Laissez-moi passer!- Let me go!**_

 _ **Excusez-moi madame- Excuse me ma'am**_

 _ **ma grand-mère- my grandmother**_


	30. Chapter 30

_**Hello and Happy New year!**_

 _ **I should be uploading more regularly now- I make no promises however! Thanks for reading! X**_

The news that the trial wouldn't be for several months dampened things a little and a few days later Missy popped in with a letter. "That'll be your Hogwarts letter." Commented Minerva blandly, wincing as Rose helped her limp into the kitchen.

"Mistress Minnie, yous is supposed to be being in bed!" Missy scolded.

"Missy, if I lay in bed anymore I'm going to start hexing someone."

"Hex Harry- I have a performance next week." Rose grinned. And frowned when there was no reply. "Harry? Harry!"

The boy was gaping at something held in his cupped hand, and Rose noticed her aunt smirking. "Harry, _qu'est-ce que c'est?_ "

She moved his hand down so that she could see the silver P nestled in his palm. "Oh no, not another one!" Sirius groaned theatrically when he caught sight of it. "First Remus and Lily, then James and now you. I'm so alone! Rose, you'll be a good little rule breaker, won't you?"

"Sure. What does the P mean?"

"Prefect." Harry whispered, and a slow smile spread over his face. "I'm a prefect?"

"Who else?" Minerva smiled wryly. "Mr Finnegan has a tendency to set things on fire, Mr Longbottom is still mildly afraid of his own shadow, Mr Weasley have each only scraped passing grades each year with- I suspect- serious help from you and Miss Granger and Mr Thomas hasn't done anything in four years that has convinced me he would be a better prefect than you, despite a certain headmaster's thoughts to the contrary."

"So it's not just-" Harry cut himself off abruptly, wincing at the raised eyebrow that was directed at him.

"Just what?"

"That… that I'm Harry Potter." He muttered. He wilted under the scathing look that was sent his way.

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer."

"Sorry." He mumbled. Then brightened. "I'm prefect… this is brilliant! I'm going to owl Neville!"

* * *

Neville was wholeheartedly pleased for his friend- Hermione was also prefect, Harry discovered via Hedwig, who had a letter from Neville who had found out from Luna because she'd been told by Ginny, who also reported that Ron had apparently vanished into his room when he'd discovered Harry was prefect from Professor Dumbledore and had only emerged several hours later for dinner, sullen faced and monotonal.

There was a flurry of letters between the children- Hannah, Ernie and Padma were prefects as well and along with the rest of their friends, they spent hours working out how to implement new ideas they'd developed. The rest of summer passed in a whirlwind, and Harry soon found himself on the Express heading back to school while Rose and Sirius were left alone with Missy once more, receiving news via the communication mirror.

"Umbridge is awful!" Harry exploded as soon as Rose had picked up her buzzing mirror one night. She blinked.

"Good evening to you too, brother-dear. I'm fine thank you, how are you?"

"Sorry. Hello, how are you? I'm fine too other than Dumbledore is a meddlesome, interfering old goat and Umbridge is a complete cow." He said in a rush. She shook her head in amusement, wandering downstairs to find Sirius.

"I take it Dumbledore wasn't happy with you?"

"Not by half. He kept calling me into meetings until eventually Aunt Minerva told him that if he approached me again she would file a complaint with the governors that he was paying a student 'unhealthy and worrisome attention'." Harry used his fingers to quote mark, grinning. It took her a beat, but then she broke down in laughter.

"That's brilliant! And… disturbing." She decided. "What about Umbridge?"

"She _awful._ As a teacher, a witch and a human being!"

"She's really that bad?"

"Practical defense work isn't necessary- if you understand the theory, the practical exam will be no trouble." Harry put on a high, trilling voice, sticking his nose in the air. "Why on earth would you ever need to defend yourself in real life? Of course you-know-who isn't back. Potter and Dumbledore are obviously mentally disturbed."

Rose grimaced. "I take it that isn't an over exaggeration?"

"No." He sighed. "It took everything I had not to lose my temper with her. And then she gave me a detention for 'not paying attention'. Cow. On the plus side, around sixty percent of the student body is siding with me."

"And the other forty?"

"Only a handful are openly hostile- mostly Slytherins. There are a lot who simply aren't willing to throw their weight in any direction yet, mostly neutral purebloods who understand what a war will mean." His voice was grim.

"That's better than last time round though." Sirius interjected. Harry jumped; his godfather hadn't been on screen, so he didn't know that he was sitting with Rose. "In the first war, there were a lot of families who tried to remain neutral at the beginning. Voldemort and the death eaters soon persuaded them to be otherwise, but there were a few who held out."

"Well, hopefully we'll be able to persuade them this time." Harry sighed.

Rose smiled sadly at him, then changed the subject. "What happened with Hermione?"

Harry snorted.

 _1_ _st_ _September_

" _Harry!" Hannah looked up and waved as he entered the prefect's car, gesturing for him to come and join her and the rest of their friends where they sat._

" _Morning all." He greeted. "Any problems?"_

" _A few disparaging comments from Malfoy Senior." Padma shrugged. "But Draco looked apologetic. I'm not quite sure what to make of that."_

" _Maybe he isn't like as much like his father as we thought." Ernie mused. Harry glanced up as the door opened, seeing the boy in question stride in, Pansy Parkinson scurrying alongside him. Green eyes met grey ones, and the blond boy gave a small nod of acknowledgment to Harry, much to his surprise. He returned it, murmuring "I think you may be right..." to Ernie._

 _Seconds later the door opened again and this time it was Hermione who hurried in. The group ignored her, continuing to talk quietly even as she sat next to them._

" _I don't know, Harry." Hannah looked thoughtful. "Marie DuMont is less outspoken than her competitors but she's often quietly overtaken them in the past."_

" _Yes, but she's made no mention of anything in the past few months!" Harry pointed out. "If she were truly in the running there would have been at least an indication!"_

" _Not if she wanted to keep it quiet." Ernie pointed out._

 _Hannah nodded excitedly. "Exactly!"_

" _Harry." Padma nudged him, whispering in his ear. "Hermione looks more and more annoyed."_

" _So?" he gave the girl an unreadable expression and turned back to the debate until the head boy and girl walked in and began to talk._

 _Padma was right though- almost completely ignored by her year-mates, Hermione was looking increasingly upset and angered as the meeting continued. A few times, she attempted to catch Harry's eyes but he paid her little attention, instead listening to those talking at the time and Padma, her house-mate Anthony, Ernie and Hannah all followed his lead. It was unfortunate that Pansy Parkinson caught sight of how the bushy haired girl was being treated, a plan already developing in her head._

 _At the end of the meeting Harry was chatting with Hannah as they left intent on finding Neville and Susan. He was stopped, however, by a hand yanking him back._

" _Hey!"_

" _Don't you 'hey' me, Harry James Potter!" Hermione looked furious, eyes wet with angry tears. "Why are you acting like such a prat? Ignoring me and pretending i'm not there!"_

 _Harry stared at her for a long moment._

" _The fact that you don't know, Miss Granger, is frankly alarming."_

 _Hermione looked stunned. "Miss-? Harry, what's wrong? Why are you acting like this?" she caught hold of his arm again, tears spilling down her cheeks when he shrugged her off violently._

" _Miss Granger, kindly desist from grabbing hold of my person and addressing me so familiarly!" he half snarled at her. She let out a sob._

" _Harry!"_

" _Miss Granger, we are not friends! Did you really think that your actions would not have consequences?"_

 _She stared at him, tears in her eyes._

" _You almost got my sister and I killed. You betrayed the trust I placed in you and in doing so put the people I care about most in danger. You have ensured that the place I call home I can no longer feel safe in and have caused my sister unbelievable difficulties in simply living her life! All because Hermione Granger knows best, and best in this case was telling Dumbledore everything you know! Despite the fact that you swore to keep my secrets!"_

 _Hermione sobbed. "I was trying to protect you!"_

" _By betraying my confidence!?"_

" _YES!" She half screamed. "You think you know better than the greatest wizards and witches in Britain! You were going to get yourself killed!"_

" _I DO KNOW BETTER THAN THEM!" Harry roared. "There is a reason that I am still alive this many years later! I have been training for this war since I was six! Britain is falling behind the rest of the magical world, Hermione, the greatest wizards and witches are not worth anything outside of this island! Britain is perceived as rapidly becoming obsolete, their values and views outdated and their practices dangerous! Dumbledore does not know best- if he had bothered to consider that, Voldemort would never have had the chance to return even back in our first year and certainly not now!_

" _I thought that you had let go of at least some of your blind faith in authority. I see now that I was wrong. I have been safe for almost a decade; your actions mean that I no longer am!"_

 _Hermione was weeping uncontrollably. "I'm sorry!"_

" _I don't care. You could have killed Rose and I. If it were just me, maybe I would find it in me to forgive you, but Rosalie was seconds away from being kissed." Harry's voice had dropped low. "You can never understand what she means to me. You will never understand. And I wouldn't wish even my worst enemy to feel what I felt when I saw her lying on the floor and wasn't certain I would be able to save her._

" _What you did was unforgivable."_

" _I'm sorry!" Hermione had sank to her knees, her face in her hands as she sobbed. "I didn't know they would be able to find you!"_

" _That's not the point Hermione. I don't blame you for the actions of the dementors. I blame you for revealing the secrets you swore to keep. That betrayal is what is unforgivable."_

 _He turned, intent on walking away but he felt a hand grab his robes. "Please! I'm sorry, I won't do it again!"_

" _No, you won't." Harry agreed. "Because I will never give you the chance."_

 _She sobbed again, clutching at his robes. "HARRY!"_

" _Miss Granger, you have two options!" he reached down and grabbed her arms, forcibly hauling her to her feet and planting her in front of him. "The first is this- I will walk away and we will be house-mates and fellow prefects. I will be polite and will attempt to be respectful but we will never be friends. If anyone asks, we simply tell them that we drifted apart. This option includes the Weasley family, by the way, as well as Remus Lupin. I'm not overly fond of any of them at the moment."_

 _Hermione sniffled. "And the other option?"_

" _If you continue to bother me, I will make it known exactly why our friendship has broken up. I will tell everyone how you betrayed me and that I no longer trust you in the slightest." he was still gripped her arms, gazing straight at her. "How do you think your future prospects will be if it becomes known just how the saviour of the wizarding world feels towards you?"_

 _He saw in her eyes that she understood, a stomach-dropping, heart-wrenching kind of understanding. And so he released her, causing her to stumble back slightly as he spun on his heel and marched out, leaving her weeping in the carriage alone._

Present day

Sirius and Rosalie looked sober as Harry recounted the story. "Are you really going to remain so cold towards her?" Rosalie asked. Harry sighed.

"I don't know. Right now, I'm still angry enough that I don't trust myself to be around her. Maybe in the future..." he shrugged, rubbing her forehead tiredly.

"What happened about the defense class we were talking about?" Sirius changed the subject, hoping to take Harry's mind off of it. Harry grimaced.

"I don't think that's going to be easy with Umbridge around."

Rose looked thoughtful. "What about a cascading class?"

"A what?"

"Basically, you would teach a few people to do something... Like teaching all the fifth year prefects to cast a patronus, for example. Then, when they've mastered it, those prefects teach the other prefects. Then they each teach the rest of their year group. Then those teach the others in their house. Eventually, everyone knows how to cast a patronus. We do it in dance sometimes- if everyone is committed, it works really well." She explained,

"That... Might actually work." Harry began to smile, already planning in his head. "Rosie, you're brilliant!" He declared. "I'm going to get Padma to help. We're going to win this!"

The connection cut off, and Sirius glanced at Rose. "Is he always like this?"

"I do not know. This is the first time he is actively preparing for a war against a dark wizard." She shrugged. He huffed, and she smiled lightly, climbing to her feet and went to leave the room only to be stopped by his hand on her wrist. She looked at him enquiringly.

"Rose... I know that I didn't react particularly... _well_ , to finding out that I'm your father." He began and she pressed her lips, looking away. "But... I need to know, how long did you know? And Harry?"

"Do we 'ave to 'ave this conversation now?" She asked, pulling slightly in an attempt to reclaim her wrist. He didn't let up, although he was careful not to hurt her as he smiled slightly. "What is _amusant_?"

"Have you ever noticed that the more emotional you get, the more French you get?" He explained, laughing lightly.

 _"Je sais._ 'Arry thinks it is 'ilarious. My point remains."

"Rose, I think we both know this conversation is long overdue." He said softly. She sighed, yielding to his gentle tugging and sitting back in her seat.

"We did not find out until after you 'ad broken out of Azkaban." She said quietly. "In fact... Before then, 'Arry and I 'ad never even 'eard your name."

"But... How did you know?" He frowned. "Emmeline was already in hospital by that point."

"Zere were pictures of ze two of you. 'Arry was under ze impression that you were responsible for ze deaths of 'is parents, so we were curious about why we 'ad not 'eard of you before. It did not take long for 'Arry to notice ze resemblance between you and I- _tante_ Minerva confirmed that she suspected ze relationship as well." She explained.

"Minerva knew?"

"She knew that you and _maman_ 'ad been dating before you were arrested and I was born only seven months later so... She did the maths." She shrugged delicately.

He rubbed his head. "I didn't. I had no idea- I thought you were younger by at least a few years."

"Most people do." She smiled. "I 'ave always been the smallest in my class. It is an advantage in ballet and gymnastics though."

He gave her a smile. "One day, we'll work out a way for me to come and see one of these performances of yours."

She looked at him quizzically. "Why would you want to? It is not your kind of thing…"

"But it's yours." He said simply.

She smiled tentatively at him and he reached out to squeeze her hand, grinning back at her.

* * *

Harry sighed as he threw himself onto his bed and warded the curtains so that he couldn't be heard from outside of them before he called Rosalie on her mirror. She answered with a mumble, and he blinked as there was simply a smear of colours before eventually an amused-looking Sirius came into focus.

"Hey pup." He greeted, while Rose appeared over his shoulder and waved a toothbrush balanced in her mouth.

"Hi." He smiled. "How are you both?"

"We're fine. What's the deal with Umbridge?" he demanded instantly.

Harry thought of the carvings sliced into the back of his hand. "Not much." He shrugged. "You heard about the 'high inquisitor' rubbish?"

"How could we not, when it was all over the freaking front page." Sirius snorted. "What's it been like?"

"Awful. She wasted no time in beginning to inspect other teacher's lessons and I got detention again!"

"Mgahm?" Rose spluttered around her toothbrush. Harry nodded morosely.

"I know, I know." He sighed. "But she was going on about how Quirrell was a great teacher."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "And you said…?"

"That he was a great teacher other than the minor drawback of him having Lord Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head."

Sirius snorted out a laugh as Harry shifted sheepishly, which turned into a yelp when Rosalie elbowed him. "Ow!"

"Aunt Min being inspected was brilliant though!" Harry remembered more cheerfully. "She cut her down practically before she'd started. Umbridge was fuming at her. She slaughtered Snape as well- he looked ready to hex her."

"Excellent." Sirius said with a satisfied smirk. Rose elbowed him again- hard.

"Ouch! Stop that!"

"Aphmphmph?" Harry stared at Rose in bewilderment as she tilted her head at him before sighing and waving a hand in the air, darting out of view. A door open and closed. Sirius shook his head in the direction she'd gone, turning back to Harry.

"What about the cascading lessons? Did you manage them?"

"We're going to start- I hadn't even had the chance to mention them to the others when Susan came up with the idea of teaching a class. She wanted me to teach a group though."

Sirius snorted. "That'd go down well with Umbridge."

"Tell me about it. Anyway, I explained the concept of the cascading class and she loved it- Padma and Ernie immediately started drawing up a rota while simultaneously trying to persuade the seventh year prefects. But that's not the strange thing- one weekend later and Umbridge put up a decree banning any and all teams and groups unless cleared by her. Even Quidditch!"

"Even Quidditch!" Sirius bolted upright, an outraged expression on his face. "She can't do that!"

"She did. And another thing- I sent Hedwig out with a letter to Aunt Appolline and she was attacked on the way back."

"Is she alright?" asked Rosalie as she reappeared sans toothbrush.

"I think so- Professor Grubbly-Plank's looking after her. But Aunt Minerva reckons that the ministry is monitoring our letters. Though she didn't say that in quite so many words." He amended when he saw their looks of disbelief.

"Fudge is really running scared, isn't he?" murmured Sirius.

" _Merde…_ " Rose cursed suddenly. Their gazes snapped to her. "Harry- I've been writing to Neville and some of the others! And none of us have been overly careful about what we've been saying…"

"You didn't mention Sirius by name did you?" asked Harry in alarm. She shook her head.

"No, of course not. Neville and I always call him Snuffles but there was other stuff about _maman_ and you-"

"Rosie!" Harry interrupted, seeing her begin to panic. "It's okay- this was the first time Hedwig's come back damaged and the letter was still attached. I think we're safe."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "No more letters though. Harry, you'll have to tell Hermione and Neville why."

Harry nodded. "I will."

"And Harry? Be careful around that woman."

* * *

Minerva rushed into _Le Place des Anges_ and hurried up the stairs into Rosalie's room, crossing it in a few long strides and touching the shoulder of the girl curled under the covers.

And found herself staring down a wand.

"Auntie?" Rose questioned in confusion when she'd registered who was standing in front of her, lowering the wand.

"Merlin, Rose…" breathed Minerva.

" _Desolè._ Habit from _maman_. What are you doing here? And what time is it?" she yawned, tucking her wand away and rubbing her eyes.

"It's early morning. You need to get up- Arthur Weasley was attacked by Voldemort's snake."

"Oh. But what does that have to do with me?"

"Harry saw it in a dream." Minerva answered grimly. "Pack enough clothes for a few days. Have you finished school yet?"

"I… no. But Sirius can call in for me in the morning. Why didn't Harry use occlumency?"

Rose had scrambled out of bed by the point, more awake.

"I don't know. Just pack _a leannan,_ he needs you. I'm going to wake Sirius."

She rushed down the hall and into the room that had become the animagus's, but hadn't even stepped through the door properly when she found another wand pointed at her. "Who's there!?" Sirius demanded.

"It's me Sirius. I didn't mean to startle you."

"Minerva?" the bedside lamp flickered on and he peered at her in confusion. "What's wrong?" Minerva explained, and before she had finished the man was up out of bed and throwing on clothes. "Is Harry alright?"

"I don't know… he was shaken and pale. Albus sent them away before I could go with him."

"And they're going to Grimmauld place?" he checked, chucking things into a bag. She nodded.

"He was… I haven't seen him like that in years. Since the end of his first year…" she trailed off worriedly. As she did, Rosalie appeared in the doorway, hazardly dressed in jeans and a jumper.

"I'm ready- I told Missy we were going as well."

Sirius threw a smaller bag into his trunk and did it up, shrinking it and slipping it into his pocket. "Alright, let's go."

"Portkey?" Rose eyed the book he held out. He nodded.

"Minerva?"

"I have to return to Hogwarts." She shook her head. "I'll ask Missy to take me- look after Harry."

"We will." Sirius promised. With one last glance at her, he tapped the book and Rose felt the tug behind her navel as the world swirled around them and they were spinning through a swirl of colours until all of a sudden she felt the ground beneath her feet, and instinctively bent her knees to land hard in a crouch with an 'oof'.

"Rose, Sirius!" she heard the yell from close by and had barely straightened up when the breath was squeezed out of her again.

"Harry!" she gasped. "Can't… breath…"

"Sorry." He released her and was immediately drawn into a hug by Sirius.

"Are you all alright?" he asked, glancing over to the ashen-faced Weasley children.

"We're fine." George nodded.

"Is Mum here?" asked Fred.

"I don't think so- she probably doesn't even know what's happened yet. The important thing was to get you away before Umbridge could interfere. I expect Dumbledore's letting Molly know now." He answered.

"Wait, how do you know?" questioned Harry.

Rose shrugged. "Aunt Min." she answered, as if that should have been obvious.

"We've got to go to St Mungos!" said Ginny urgently. She looked around at her brothers; they were all still in their pyjamas. 'Sirius, can you lend us cloaks or anything?!"

"Hang on, you can't go tearing off to St Mungo's!" he exclaimed.

"Course we can go to St Mungo's if we want!" said Fred, with a mulish expression. "He's our dad!"

"And how are you going to explain how you knew Arthur was attacked before the hospital even let his wife know?"

"What does that matter?" said George hotly.

"It matters because we don't want to draw attention to the fact that Harry is having visions of things that are happening hundreds of miles away!" said Sirius angrily. "Have you any idea what the Ministry would make of _that_ information?"

"And they wouldn't just punish Harry- they would likely take it out on your father and brother as well." Pointed out Rosalie.

Fred and George looked as though they could not care less what the Ministry made of anything. Ron was still ashen-faced and silent.

Ginny said. "Somebody else could have told us… we could have heard it somewhere other than Harry."

"Like who?" scoffed Rose.

"Listen." Sirius said gently. "Your dad's been hurt while on duty for the Order and the circumstances are fishy enough without his children knowing about it seconds after it happened. The ministry would probably interrogate all of you. Don't you think your mother is going to have enough to worry about?"

Fred and George still looked mutinous. Ginny, however, took a few steps over to the nearest chair and sank into it. Harry looked at Ron, who made a funny movement somewhere between a nod and a shrug and sat down too. The twins glared at Sirius for another minute, then took seats either side of Ginny.

"That's right." said Sirius encouragingly. "Come on, let's all… let's all have a drink while we're waiting. Butterbeer?"

"Sirius, it's the middle of the night." Sighed Rose. "I'll make hot chocolate, if there's anything in the cupboards."

Harry worked alongside her with practised ease while Sirius ordered Kreacher to light the fire. Rose even managed to find a scattering of marshmallows that looked edible and easily floated the drinks to the four at the table.

"What happened?" she asked Harry quietly from beside the counter as she passed him his. He shifted uncomfortably- his stomach was full of horrible hot, bubbling guilt. They would not be here if it were not for him; they would all still be asleep in bed. And it was no good telling himself that by raising the alarm he had ensured that Mr Weasley was found, because there was also the inescapable business of it being he who had attacked Mr Weasley in the first place.

"Harry?"

Softly, he began telling her and Sirius of his vision, of the snake and the blood and then the odd urge to bite Dumbledore when they were taking the portkey. He barely noticed when Rose slipped her hand into his, her other one wrapped tightly around her mug.

"Did you tell Dumbledore this?" Sirius asked. He nodded.

"I couldn't not. I've had visions before but never of the snake."

"Maybe something's changed." Mused Rosalie. "Could Voldemort have been in the snake? So you were still seeing it from his point of view?"

Sirius shook his head. "I don't see how- I've never heard of anything like that before."

"I don't think so anyway…" Harry agreed. "It was… different. I can't explain it, it just was."

All of a sudden, a burst of fire in mid-air illuminated the dirty room around them and, as they gave cries of shock, a scroll of parchment fell with a thud on to the table, accompanied by a single golden phoenix tail feather.

"Fawkes!" said Sirius at once, snatching up the parchment. "That's not Dumbledore s writing - it must be a message from your mother – here."

He thrust the letter into Georges hand, who ripped it open and read aloud: "Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St Mungo's now. Stay where you are. I will send news as soon as I can. Mum."

George looked around the table. "Still alive…" he said slowly. "But that makes it sound…"

He did not need to finish the sentence. It sounded to Harry, too, as though Mr Weasley was hovering somewhere between life and death. He felt terrible- he might have been angry at the Weasleys but he didn't want any of them to _die_! Still exceptionally pale, Ron stared at the back of his mother's letter as though it might speak words of comfort to him. Fred pulled the parchment out of George's hands and read it for himself, then looked up at Harry, who felt his hand shaking around his mug and clenched it more tightly to stop the trembling.

It was with a sense of déjà vu that they spent the night waiting. At one moment, Rose's eyes met Harry's and he knew that, like him, she was remembering the night they had sat up the hospital waiting for news on their mother. Sirius suggested once, without any real conviction, that they all go to bed, but the Weasleys' looks of disgust were answer enough. They mostly sat in silence around the table, watching the candle wick sinking lower and lower into liquid wax, speaking only to check the time, to wonder aloud what was happening, and to reassure each other that if there was bad news, they would know straightaway, for Mrs Weasley must long since have arrived at St Mungo's.

And then, at one point, at around three in the morning Rose quietly got up and refilled the mugs of hot chocolate, urging them all quietly to drink. Sirius and the Weasleys did so, but Harry narrowed his eyes in suspicion and refrained from raising the cup to his lips.

Silently, Fred fell into a doze, his head lolling sideways onto George's shoulder who in turn had his head resting on the back of the chair, his mouth gaping open while Ginny was curled like a cat on her seat and breathing deeply with her eyes closed. Ron was sitting with his head on his arms and was beginning to snore softly. Even Sirius slipped into sleep, leaning back against the wall with his chair balanced precariously.

"You put something in the hot chocolate." Harry accused his sister, who shushed him, casting a worried look at the rest of the group.

"It wasn't anything strong, just something to help them drift off but time will pass quicker if they sleep. They'll wake up at any loud noise so keep quiet." She explained softly, settling into a cross-legged position on the bench at the back of the kitchen. "How do you sleep in a room with other people? I don't think I could do it if I tried."

Her voice was soft as he settled next to her. "I had to get used to it. It takes a while when I first go back, and I can't count the number of times I've nearly hexed someone because they turned over too noisily."

Rose smiled. "You should get some sleep as well." She encouraged.

"What about you?"

"I go to bed early, remember? I would have been up in a couple of hours anyway. Sleep Harry."

He did.

At just after five in the morning, he woke suddenly when the kitchen door swung open and Mrs Weasley entered the kitchen. She was extremely pale, but smiled wearily at him and Rose wearily when they rose fluidly.

"Hello Molly." Sirius greeted. "Would you like me to wake them up?"

"No, let them sleep. I didn't know you were all here."

"Aunt Minerva sent for Sirius and I so they wouldn't be alone." Rose explained, unable to be hostile in the current situation. "How's your husband?"

"He's going to be all right." she said, her voice weak with tiredness. "He's sleeping… We can all go and see him later. Bill's sitting with him now; he's going to take the morning off work."

"Who's Bill?" mouthed Rose at Harry as the woman sat down in exhaustion.

"Older brother." He mouthed back, gesturing to the sleeping kids and miming long hair. Realisation crossed her face as she recalled the man from a few months before.

"Mrs Weasley? Why don't you go and get a few hours sleep upstairs- we'll wake you if anything happens." Rose suggested gently. The woman looked hesitant.

"We promise." Harry nodded at her.

"Okay… thank you dears." Before she left though, Mrs Weasley pulled him into a hug. "I don't know what would have happened if it hadn't been for you, Harry." she said in a muffled voice. "They might not have found Arthur for hours and then it would have been too late, but thanks to you he's alive and Dumbledore's been able to think up a good cover story for Arthur being where he was, you've no idea what trouble he would have been in otherwise, look at poor Sturgis…"

Harry could hardly bear her gratitude, but fortunately she soon released him and vanished upstairs. He knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again if he tried, so instead joined Rose in meditation for several hours. At eight, he snapped aware when Rose touched his arm.

"There's something moving around in the hallway and it isn't Mrs Weasley." She breathed in his air. He tensed and surged to his feet, the two of them making their way to the door with their wands in their hands. Silently, Rose slipped behind the door and met his gaze, opening it quickly when he nodded to allow him to step into the hallway.

Immediately he relaxed slightly. "Kreacher!" he hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Blood traitors are in the kitchen sleeping. How is Kreacher supposed to make breakfast? Will the blood traitors be wanting to eat?"

"Is there food for breakfast in the cupboards?" Rose asked him kindly. He nodded. "Then we will feed ourselves, thank you Kreacher."

The elf blinked, but popped away.

"Harry?" Ginny's voice sounded panicked and woke her brothers with her noise. Harry sighed, rushing back into the kitchen to comfort them and relay the message from Mrs Weasley while Rose began to make breakfast.

After, the Weasleys all went upstairs to get more sleep but Harry noticed Rose and Sirius vanishing to the library. "What's wrong?" He asked them.

"Harry, these visions… they're not normal." Rose explained, pulling a large old book off of the shelf.

"Obviously." He snorted.

"No pup, we mean these are abnormal even for visions. Having them from the point of view of the snake…" he trailed off.

Harry sat down slowly. "Okay, so what are you thinking?"

"That they're linked in some way to however Voldemort made himself immortal." Rose answered. "The problem is, we don't know how he did it. There are only a handful of way but none of them fit what we know."

Harry pressed his lips together and nodded. "Then let's find out."

They buried themselves in books that they simply didn't have access to in France, the hours passing until Mrs Weasley poked her head in and announced lunch, during which the trunks arrived from Hogwarts. Harry couldn't help but be grateful for the presence of his sister and Godfather; knowing that they were researching how to help him loosened the knot in his stomach somewhat.

The Weasleys were riotously happy and talkative as they changed out of their robes into jeans and sweatshirts, and when Tonks and Mad-Eye turned up to escort them all- bar Rose, who was remaining in the library to continue reading- across London, they greeted them gleefully, laughing at the bowler hat Mad-Eye was wearing at an angle to conceal his magical eye and assuring him, truthfully, that Tonks, whose hair was short and bright pink again, would attract far less attention on the Underground. Harry hadn't wanted to go, still angry at the Weasleys but found himself herded along at their insistence.

Tonks was very interested in Harry's vision of the attack on Mr Weasley, something Harry was not remotely interested in discussing. "There isn't any Seer blood in your family, is there?" she enquired curiously, as they sat side by side on a train rattling towards the heart of the city. "No." said Harry.

"No…" said Tonks musingly, "No, I suppose it's not really prophecy you're doing, is it? I mean, you're not seeing the future, you're seeing the present… it's odd, isn't it? Useful, though…"

Harry didn't answer; fortunately, they got out at the next stop, a station in the very heart of London, and in the bustle of leaving the train he was able to allow Fred and George to get between himself and Tonks, who was leading the way. They all followed her up the escalator, Moody clunking along at the back of the group, his bowler tilted low and one gnarled hand stuck in between the buttons of his coat, clutching his wand. Harry thought he sensed the concealed eye staring hard at him. Trying to avoid any more questions about his dream, he asked Mad-Eye where St Mungo's was hidden.

"Not far from here." grunted Moody as they stepped out into the wintry air on a broad store-lined street packed with Christmas shoppers. He pushed Harry a little ahead of him and stumped along just behind; Harry knew the eye was rolling in all directions under the tilted hat. "Wasn't easy to find a good location for a hospital. Nowhere in Diagon Alley was big enough and we couldn't have it underground like the Ministry - wouldn't be healthy. In the end they managed to get hold of a building up here. Theory was, sick wizards could come and go and just blend in with the crowd."

He seized Harry's shoulder to prevent them being separated by a gaggle of shoppers plainly intent on nothing but making it into a nearby shop full of electrical gadgets. "Here we go." said Moody a moment later.

They had arrived outside a large, old-fashioned, red-brick department store called Purge & Dowse Ltd. The place had a shabby, miserable air; the window displays consisted of a few chipped dummies with their wigs askew, standing at random and modelling fashions at least ten years out of date. Large signs on all the dusty doors read: 'Closed for Refurbishment'. Harry distinctly heard a large woman laden with plastic shopping bags say to her friend as they passed "'It's never open, that place..."

"Right." said Tonks, beckoning them towards a window displaying nothing but a particularly ugly female dummy. Its false eyelashes were hanging off and it was modelling a green nylon pinafore dress. "Everybody ready?"

They nodded, clustering around her. Moody gave Harry another shove between the shoulder blades to urge him forward and Tonks leaned close to the glass, looking up at the very ugly dummy, her breath steaming up the glass. "Wotcher," she said, "we're here to see Arthur Weasley."

Harry thought how absurd it was for Tonks to expect the dummy to hear her talking so quietly through a sheet of glass, with buses rumbling along behind her and all the racket of a street full of shoppers. Then he reminded himself that dummies couldn't hear anyway. Next second, his mouth opened in shock as the dummy gave a tiny nod and beckoned with its jointed finger, and Tonks had seized Ginny and Mrs Weasley by the elbows, stepped right through the glass and vanished.

Fred, George and Ron stepped after them. Harry glanced around at the jostling crowd; not one of them seemed to have a glance to spare for window displays as ugly as those of Purge & Dowse Ltd; nor did any of them seem to have noticed that six people had just melted into thin air in front of them.

"C'mon." growled Moody, giving Harry yet another poke in the back, and together they stepped forward through what felt like a sheet of cool water, emerging quite warm and dry on the other side.

There was no sign of the ugly dummy or the space where she had stood. They were in what seemed to be a crowded reception area where rows of witches and wizards sat upon rickety wooden chairs, some looking perfectly normal and perusing out-of-date copies of Witch Weekly, others sporting gruesome disfigurements such as elephant trunks or extra hands sticking out of their chests. The room was scarcely less quiet than the street outside, for many of the patients were making very peculiar noises: a sweaty-faced witch in the centre of the front row, who was fanning herself vigorously with a copy of the Daily Prophet, kept letting off a high-pitched whistle as steam came pouring out of her mouth; a grubby-looking warlock in the corner clanged like a bell every time he moved and, with each clang, his head vibrated horribly so that he had to seize himself by the ears to hold it steady.

Witches and wizards in lime-green robes were walking up and down the rows, asking questions and making notes on clipboards like Umbridge's. Harry noticed the emblem embroidered on their chests: a wand and bone, crossed. The same as in France, he mused.

"Over here!" called Mrs Weasley, above the renewed clanging of the warlock in the corner, and they followed her to the queue in front of a plump blonde witch seated at a desk marked Enquiries. The wall behind her was covered in notices and posters saying things like: A CLEAN CAULDRON KEEPS POTIONS FROM BECOMING POISONS and ANTIDOTES ARE ANTI-DON'TS UNLESS APPROVED BY A QUALIFIED HEALER. There was also a large portrait that Harry recognised from Hogwarts of a witch with long silver ringlets which was labelled:

Dilys Derwent

St Mungo's Healer 1722-1741

Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

1741-1768

Dilys was eyeing the Weasley party closely as though counting them; when Harry caught her eye she gave a tiny wink, walked sideways out of her portrait and vanished.

Meanwhile, at the front of the queue, a young wizard was performing an odd on-the-spot jig and trying, in between yelps of pain, to explain his predicament to the witch behind the desk. "'t's these - ouch - shoes my brother gave me - ow - they re eating my - OUCH - feet - look at them, there must be some kind of - AARGH - jinx on them and I can't - AAAAARGH - get them off." He hopped from one foot to the other as though dancing on hot coals.

"The shoes don't prevent you reading, do they?" said the blonde witch, irritably pointing at a large sign to the left of her desk. "You want Spell Damage, fourth floor. Just like it says on the floor guide. Next!"

The old, stooped wizard with a hearing trumpet had shuffled to the front of the queue now. "I'm here to see Broderick Bode!" he wheezed.

"Ward forty-nine, but I'm afraid you're wasting your time," said the witch dismissively. "He's completely addled, you know - still thinks he's a teapot. Next!"

A harassed-looking wizard was holding his small daughter tightly by the ankle while she flapped around his head using the immensely large, feathery wings that had sprouted right out through the back of her romper suit. "Fourth floor." said the witch, in a bored voice, without asking, and the man disappeared through the double doors beside the desk, holding his daughter like an oddly shaped balloon. "Next!"

Mrs Weasley moved forward to the desk while Harry smiled at a small boy who was sucking his thumb… which just happened to be sticking out of where his big toe should have been.

"We'll wait outside, Molly." Tonks said. "Arthur won't want too many visitors at once... it ought to be just the family first."

Mad-Eye growled his approval of this idea and set himself with his back against the corridor wall, his magical eye spinning in all directions. Harry drew back, too, but Mrs Weasley reached out a hand and pushed him through the door, saying, "Don't be silly, Harry, Arthur wants to thank you."

"No Mrs Weasley." He said firmly. "Your family needs to go in, and i'm not family."

She relented, and Harry settled himself into a chair, crossing his legs and closing his eyes as he retreated into himself.

After a while, he heard the door open and the younger ones came out while Mad-Eye and Tonks went in and closed the door of the ward behind them. Fred raised his eyebrows. "Fine." he said coolly, rummaging in his pockets. "Be like that. Don't tell us anything."

"Looking for these?" said George, holding out what looked like a tangle of flesh-coloured string.

"You read my mind." said Fred, grinning. "Let's see if St Mungo's puts Imperturbable Charms on its ward doors, shall we?"

He and George disentangled the string and separated five Extendable Ears from each other. Fred and George handed them around. Harry hesitated to take one. "Go on, Harry, take it! You saved Dad's life. If anyone's got the right to eavesdrop on him, it's you."

Grinning in spite of himself, Harry took the end of the string and inserted it into his ear as the twins had done. "OK, go!" Fred whispered. The flesh-coloured strings wriggled like long skinny worms and snaked under the door. At first, Harry could hear nothing, then he jumped as he heard Tonks whispering as clearly as though she were standing right beside him.

"…they searched the whole area but couldn't find the snake anywhere. It just seems to have vanished after it attacked you, Arthur… but You-Know-Who can't have expected a snake to get in, can he?"

"I reckon he sent it as a lookout." growled Moody. "'Cause he's not had any luck so far, has he? No, I reckon he's trying to get a clearer picture of what he's facing and if Arthur hadn't been there the beast would've had a lot more time to look around. So, Potter says he saw it all happen?"

"Yes." said Mrs Weasley. She sounded rather uneasy. "You know, Dumbledore seems almost to have been waiting for Harry to see something like this. He seemed surprised it hadn't happened sooner."

"Yeah, well." said Moody. "There's something funny about the Potter kid, we all know that. We still don't know where he's been all these years, though we're pretty sure Emmeline Vance had him."

"Dumbledore seemed worried about him when I spoke to him this morning." whispered Mrs Weasley.

"Course he's worried." growled Moody. "The boy's seeing things from inside You-Know-Who's snake. Obviously, Potter doesn't realise what that means, but if You-Know-Who's possessing him-"

Harry pulled the Extendable Ear out of his own, his heart hammering very fast and heat rushing up his face. He looked around at the others. They were all staring at him, the strings still trailing from their ears, looking suddenly fearful.

He lurched to his feet. "Tell the others I've gone home." He said, reaching around to touch the gun nestled at his back. " _Les Anges!_ "

The tug of the portkey had him spinning through the air, battered by the multi-directional wind until he crashed into the carpeted ground of the forest behind his house, rolling to come up standing on his feet and immediately taking off through the woods.

 _ **Amusant- funny**_

 _ **Je sais- I know**_


	31. Chapter 31

Harry felt his heart pounding in his ears, his breathing ragged as he ran on instinct through the woods he'd spent much of his childhood in, passing the wards that surrounded his house with barely a thought as he dodged branches and logs without a thought.

"Missy!" he gasped out as he threw the kitchen door open, chest heaving. The small elf yelped in surprise, tumbling off of the stool she'd been standing on in order to reach the sink.

"Master Harry!" she scolded, scrambling to her feet. "What is yous doing?!"

"Sorry. I need you to go to fetch Rose and Sirius. And Aunt Min. She's at Hogwarts, the other two are at Grimmauld place."

"Master Harry-?" Missy began but he cut her off.

"Please Missy, just hurry." He dashed off upstairs, climbing up to the attic and observing the work Rosalie and Sirius had been doing in his absence. There were notes covering the walls, newspaper clippings with highlighted sections and scribbled post-it notes with points and questions to remember, a timeline covering Tom Riddle from when he was born right up to his rebirth just a few months before.

Harry frowned, however, when he realised that many of the books had shifted places. Instead of being on shelves, many were piled near the twin desks while there were several lying open in various places around the room. Even the ones that remained on the shelves had been moved from where Harry remembered them. "Dammit." He muttered, wondering where to start. Downstairs, he heard a pop and immediately Rose's voice called out his name.

"Up here!"

Two sets of footsteps soon hurried towards him. "Harry, what's wrong?" Rosalie asked worriedly.

"Are you okay pup?"

Harry shook his head. "I… there's…"

"Harry?"

Slowly, he explained what he had heard in the hospital. Sirius paled, but Rose just frowned and tilted her head, looking incredulous. "You don't believe them?"

"What the hell am I supposed to think?!" Harry yelled. "I- I have to leave; you're all in danger around me. I have to go somewhere, far away. I can't go back to Hogwarts, I'd put people in danger… maybe one of the family lawyers can help- Can I home study magic without taking exams? Maybe I could go to an island, not many people the-"

 _CRACK!_

Harry held his cheek, staring in shock at his sister who held her reddened palm out to one side as she hid a wince. "Harry, do stop being so hysterical." She sighed.

"Why are you so calm?! I saw Mr Weasley get attacked! I wanted to attack Dumbledore!"

"I'm not denying that." Rose answered calmly. "But you weren't possessed."

"How the hell do you know!?"

"Because you remember it."

This brought Harry up short. "I- what?"

"You remember it. And people who are possessed don't have any memory of their actions during the possession. Look at Ginny Weasley and the diary." She reminded him. Harry stared at her.

"I'm not being possessed?"

" _Non._ "

There was a long silence. "Oh." He looked sheepish, then alarmed. "Then what in Merlin's name is happening to me?!"

Another pop from downstairs signified Minerva's arrival, and a faint-looking Sirius drew her aside to explain what had happened to her while Rose withdrew a notebook to show Harry.

"We think something happened when Voldemort's killing curse backfired. That it linked you, somehow." She explained.

"How?"

"That's what we don't know. We can't find a ritual that matches exactly. And we can't find any record at all of anyone surviving the killing curse before."

"Neither could _maman._ " Harry remembered. "And she spent years looking…"

" _Exactement._ There is a possibility that Dumbledore knows, however." She told him hesitantly.

"WHAT?"

"It's the way you described him acting, pup." Sirius explained. "He wasn't surprised, like he'd been expecting it."

"He was." Minerva said suddenly. They all looked at her. "When I woke him, the first thing he said when he saw me was 'is it Harry?' He already knew."

Harry smacked his head against the desk. "He won't tell us."

"Maybe he doesn't have to…" Rose suggested cautiously. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Well… we've been looking for the answer in books. What if the solution is what isn't in the books?"

There was a silence.

"I don't understand." Minerva admitted.

"We know Dumbledore has been researching this. What if he got rid of references to what Voldemort did to stop anyone copying him?"

Sirius frowned. "How?"

"Get rid of any references in Hogwarts library and buy out the book stores. It wouldn't be difficult- the man has income from three separate high ranking positions." She reminded him. "He's even had access to the Black library at Grimmuald place."

"That doesn't help me though." Said Harry in frustration. "We can't look for something that isn't there!"

"No but we can look for it elsewhere." Rose explained. "Sirius and I have been concentrating our research on books from England because we thought those were the ones Voldemort would have had the easiest access to. What if we searched here in France? Or even further afield?"

"Rose, you are a genius!" Sirius declared, kissing her forehead firmly.

Minerva smiled gently. "And maybe stop thinking you have to do everything yourselves?" she suggested. "You aren't alone, let's use the resources we have."

"You mean people?" Rose asked.

"Exactly. Let's divide and conquer." Minerva said. "Harry, go floo the Delacours- Merlin knows Appolline is full of all sorts of useless information thanks to that library of theirs. Maybe she'll know something. I'll write to a few curse breakers I know. Rose, contact _Monsieur Lefebvre_ and ask him if he can put us in contact with anyone. Sirius, why don't you head into _le boulevard_ and look through the bookstores?"

They all murmured an agreement and set off for their destinations, but Sirius lingered behind. "Minerva? What do you know about this Umbridge?"

She frowned. "She's a ministry puppet, utterly devoted to Fudge. Why?"

"Harry is acting… off. I can't explain it, but Rose has noticed as well."

Minerva sighed. "Umbridge has somewhat of a vendetta against Harry. She gives more detentions than any of the other teachers combined, even to the detriment of her own free time. But… there's really nothing I can do."

"Surely there's some sort of appeal process?"

"There was. The high inquisitor abolished it." She answered flatly.

He growled.

"It's bad, isn't it, at Hogwarts?" he questioned quietly. Her lips pressed together and she gave a single nod.

"And it isn't going to get better."

* * *

They all got back late that night and spent the entire next day trolling through books researching, and Minerva apparated Harry back to Grimmauld place the next morning, standing sternly over him to ensure he apologised to the adults who had been so worried when he vanished from the hospital.

"Merry Christmas Harry, Professor." Greeted Hermione as she walked into the kitchen. Harry didn't answer her but Minerva nodded politely.

"Miss Granger, I was under the impression you were with your parents."

"I came on the Knight Bus last night." Hermione explained. "Dumbledore told me what had happened first thing, but I had to wait for term to end officially before setting off. Umbridge is livid that Harry and the Weasleys disappeared right under her nose, even though Dumbledore told her Mr Weasley was in St Mungo's and he'd given them all permission to visit. So… how're you feeling, Harry?"

"I'm fine." He said shortly. Hermione opened her mouth but was interrupted by a voice from the hall.

"Harry, Auntie, are you here?"

"In here Rosie!"

The girl appeared, smiling wearily at her aunt and brother. "I've been sent on a mission- have either of you seen a black leather book with gold writing on the front and a large gouge in the back?"

Harry shook his head. "No, but then we haven't looked."

Rose inclined her head and wandered over to Minerva, who wrapped her arms around her and rested her chin on her head. "When do you want to visit your mother this year?" she asked them as the entire Weasley family filed in.

"I was thinking Monday afternoon, when the healers have finished their rounds?" Harry suggested. Rose smiled.

"I'd like that." She agreed. At this point, Harry noticed that the rest of the kids in the kitchen were gaping at his sister and aunt; he was confused, until he realised that they had probably never seen Minerva smiling and hugging anyone before. He smirked, ambling over to them.

" _Tata,_ are we going to Neville's for New Year's?" he asked. She raised an eyebrow at him when she caught the look of mischief in his eyes.

"I assume so. You and Rosalie certainly will. Why?"

He rested his head on her shoulder, noticing Rose watching him with narrowed eyes.

"Just checking; I have to RSVP to Neville."

She absently looped an arm around him. "What are you up to?" Minerva muttered.

"Me?" he looked at her innocently. She harrumphed, but rested her cheek on his head. By now, the Weasley children had turned a funny shade of purple and Hermione looked mildly like a fish with her mouth opening and closing.

Harry just smirked at them.

* * *

"Harry wake up! _C'est noel!_ " Rose shook him awake excitedly. He groaned, blinking blearily.

" _C'est trop_ early."

" _Non!_ It's eight already!"

"I'm up, I'm up." He fumbled for his glasses to see Rosalie already shrugging into her dressing gown. He quickly joined her, and ran down the hall to Sirius's room while she went to their Aunt's, knocking quickly before entering.

"Merry Christmas!" she grinned.

Minerva was already awake and dressed, reclining on the bed with a letter in her hand. "Merry Christmas." She replied warmly. "Where's Harry?"

"Fetching Sirius."

There was a pile of presents at the end of her bed and once joined by the boys they tore eagerly into them. Sirius had given Harry a set of excellent books entitled Practical Defensive Magic and its Use Against the Dark Arts which had superb, moving colour illustrations of all the counter-jinxes and hexes it described. Harry flicked through the first volume eagerly; he could see it was going to be highly useful. Rose gasped when she opened hers- the image of her mother laughing by the Hogwarts lake was one she hadn't seen before and she hugged Sirius gratefully. Minerva had gifted her with a set of dance shoes- hers were wearing out again- and Harry received a book on flying and Quidditch techniques.

That afternoon Minerva accompanied them to Paris where they snuck Sirius into the hospital by distracting the healers. They spent the afternoon there before returning home, the holidays quickly passing in a blur of homework and study. Sirius seemed to have taken it upon himself to teach them as much defence as possible before Harry returned to school but more than once Rose snuck off and was found dancing instead. Eventually, Minerva had to tell Sirius that she was bored as she'd studied ahead to help Harry so already knew everything the man was trying to teach her.

On the final day, Snape arrived at the hospital just after them and immediately swooped down on Harry, who was by Emmeline's bedside with Sirius, Minerva and Rose. "Potter. The headmaster wishes for you to study Occlumency this term."

Harry blinked, bemused. "I already know occlumency."

It was Snape's turn to looked confused. "You know it?"

" _Oui_. Maman taught it to Rose and to me."

"Yet you are still receiving visions?"

Rose crossed her arms from her seat across the bed. "They're getting past his barriers somehow."

"Would you mind if I checked?"

Harry smirked. This was one area he knew he excelled in- how could he not? His mother had been fanatical about teaching him.

"Legilimens!"

Rose rolled her eyes as the two engaged in a staring contest. "Boys."

Snape yelped as he was physically repelled backwards, Harry glaring daggers at him. "If you ever do that again, I will hex you so badly you won't know what day of the week it is!"

"Severus, what did you do?" frowned Minerva, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. Snape sneered, rising to his feet.

"He tried to use my parents to get my shields to falter." Harry bit out. Anger flashed across Sirius's face, and he rose from his seat only to be stopped by Rosalie.

"Enough! Professor, were Harry's shields acceptable?"

"He is proficient."

"Good. Then please leave."

"Interfering _connard_!" Harry muttered furiously, angered at yet another attempt to control his life by the headmaster. And for once, Minerva didn't reprimand his language, but seemed to be agreeing with him.

 _ **C'est noel- it's Christmas**_

 _ **C'est trop**_ **early-** _ **it's too early**_

 _ **Connard- asshole**_


	32. Chapter 32

_**Hi everyone! Thanks for reading and thanks to those who have reviewed and favourited :-) X**_

Life didn't get any simpler with the mass breakout from Azkaban. Fudge was attempting to blame Sirius, but Amelia Bones had given a quote that stated in no uncertain terms that he was innocent until proven guilty, and as the Wizengamot had been delaying repeatedly his trial there was no evidence he had done anything wrong, let alone facilitated a break out from a prison. Even so, Sirius was once again lying low at _Le Place des Anges_ and being very moody about it, according to an exasperated Rose.

"Honestly, sometimes I wonder which one of us is really the teenager." She huffed to Harry over the mirror. "Hello Neville. I'm sorry about the Lestranges." She added when she spotted the boy in the background.

"Hi Rose. How's Sirius?"

Her answering groan told him all he needed to know.

"Rose, can you ask Sirius what he knows about the Department of Mysteries?" Harry asked.

"Why?"

"I think that's where I've been dreaming of. I was wondering why."

She frowned. "I'll ask, but I'm not sure how much he'll know. He's in the woods as Padfoot at the moment, chasing squirrels, poor things. I warned him if he killed one I'd order Missy to feed him only dog food for a month."

"Now why doesn't that surprise me?" he smirked.

"Oh, and Uncle Jean sent a letter. He's still working on what we asked, but he said to try a different shielding method."

"Damn it. I had enough trouble learning to use this one." He grouched.

"Oh, and he also said you should use the Quibbler to make a statement about the escaped convicts and how you and Sirius hope they will be brought to justice soon."

"Just full of instructions today, aren't we?"

She frowned. "Well don't blame me. It's not my fault Umbridge is reading all your post."

"Hey, it was a joke!" he held up his hands in mock surrender. She sighed.

"Sorry. I've had a long day."

"Psst! Seamus is coming!" Neville hissed at them. Harry's eyes widened, knowing the boy already thought he was mad and would be even worse if he found him talking to a mirror.

"Gotta go!"

As it turned out, a few days later Seamus wasn't a problem. The latest article in the Quibbler came out and involved Harry telling the truth about the educational decrees, and included quotes from him and Sirius denouncing the break out from Azkaban. Umbridge banned it immediately, which not only incited people to break the rules but also involved a resurgence of the articles from the previous year as well. The various issues were passed covertly around, a secret amongst the students kept them hidden as well as the cascading classes had been. Many urged relatives to read copies as well and fan mail from the public started pouring in for Harry, who arranged through Rosalie to have an interview detailing his life with the Dursleys published the week after.

Unfortunately, all of this had the unfortunate side effect of prompting yet more educational decrees and meant that Harry was almost completely cut off from Minerva, though she urged him to come to her in an emergency.

The decrees also meant that there was very rarely a moment when the dorm room or common room was empty- Harry struggled to find a minute where he could talk to Rosalie or Sirius without being overheard.

"Harry!" Neville scrambled to catch up with him in the corridor outside of charms.

"What's up?"

"You know I received permission to see my parents yesterday, for my mother's birthday?"

"Yes?"

"Well, I met up with Rose and Snuffles there." Neville murmured. Harry's eyes widened.

"Keep walking." He muttered, nudging him when he slowed. "What did they say?"

"Snuffles thinks that the explanation for those who thrice defied him is hidden in the place you asked about. He said you'd understand."

Harry's jaw tightened. "I do. Thanks Neville."

"Wait! There's more!" he hissed. "They said there are rumours in the ministry amongst those who know, that there's a plan to get Dumbledore out of Hogwarts. What did they mean?"

Harry set his jaw, biting his lip. "It means, Umbridge needs to learn not to tickle a sleeping dragon." He said lowly. Neville's eyes widened at the smirk that grew across his face.

* * *

Harry quickly discovered that when a group of children set out to do something, the results could be quite terrifying. All four houses united, with the sole purpose of tormenting the toad.

It started with noises. Simple buzzing in her classroom, that all of the students claimed they couldn't hear. In her office as well, a high pitched whine that drove her insane.

And then there were the gifts. Each day, a few students took it upon themselves to send Umbridge the most outlandish and infuriating gifts they could. Harry personally sent her a rubber duck every day. Neville provided subscriptions to foreign magazines she couldn't understand, while many of the muggleborns and half-bloods sent muggle items such as electric whisks and videotapes. One particularly brave soul sent her a self-pleasuring device that had their classmates looking mildly green around the gills. On one particularly amusing day, every student conspired to send her an animal. Rabbits, cats, frogs and even an armadillo invaded the hall, causing meals in there to be cancelled for the rest of the day while it was cleared up and forcing students to eat in their common rooms. Each day, an influx of owls flurried around the teacher, who eventually took to eating her breakfast away from the great hall.

It was Rose who thought of the next trick. "According to educational decree twenty-four, all student groups are banned." She said slowly. "And defines a group is a regular meeting of three or more students, yes?"

"That's right…" Harry looked at her quizzically. In the background, he could see Sirius listening curiously.

"Well… did she give permission for you all to go to classes?"

Harry stared at her.

"What?"

"Well, that's a group of students isn't it? And you meet regularly. You wouldn't want to break the rules, would you?" she smirked. Harry beamed.

"You. Are. A. Genius."

" _Merci._ And… your common rooms and dorms. Also groups of more than three." She raised an eyebrow. Harry chuckled, grinning evilly as he bade goodbye and rushed to pass on the message. The next morning, no student went to class.

"Potter." Malfoy called to him down one of the corridors. He quirked an eyebrow in the blond's direction.

"Morning."

"What are you hoping to achieve?" he asked bluntly.

Harry grinned. "Honestly? I just want to annoy the hell out of her. She's a particularly repulsive human being, and gives me detention whether I break the rules or not. So…" he shrugged. "Go big or go home."

Malfoy studied him for a long moment. "I don't agree with my father." He said abruptly. Harry's eyes widened. "But I can't publicly go against him. I'll make sure Slytherin continues to back you, Potter."

And with that, he turned on his heel and left.

"What was that about?" asked Neville, amazed. Harry looked slightly dumbfounded himself.

"Honestly… I'm not wholly sure."

"Messrs Potter and Longbottom." They jumped when the voice of professor McGonagall whipped down the corridor.

"Good morning professor." They chorused.

"Don't you good morning me. Would you care to enlighten me on why I have no students in my class? Or why there don't seem to be any in any other classes either?" she crossed her arms, and Harry got the impression she was tapping her foot beneath her robes.

"Well, you see professor…" he began seriously. "We realised that by coming to class, we were breaking educational decree number twenty-four. And as none of wanted to be expelled, we ceased coming to class in order to avoid this."

"What do you mean you were breaking the decree? How?"

"A class involves a regular meeting of a group of more than three students." Neville explained. The two were stared at for a very long moment, before Minerva pressed her lips together in a way that Harry knew meant she was hiding a smile.

"You have an excellent point. Ten points each to Gryffindor for following the decrees of the ministry." She turned to walk away, but glanced over her shoulder. "Oh, but do pass on the message that any drops in grades shall be punished."

Umbridge was furious, but even she couldn't deny that they had a point. She planned to announce it during dinner, only no one showed up to that either. At any point, there was only a maximum of three students in the hall, and they would quickly gather a plate of food and leave with it, only for the next student to walk in and repeat the process.

Eventually, she stalked out into the corridor to find a line of students, carefully standing with a space behind every third student, all waiting to enter the hall. "What is going on?" she demanded.

"Professor, we can't all go into the hall at once." Explained Theodore Nott. "It would be a regular meeting of more than three students!"

Harry was sure he heard Professor Hooch snort with laughter as she walked past.

That night was the same, when it found groups of three students bedding down in classrooms for the night. Minerva walked in to find Harry, Neville and a fourth year Ravenclaw named Phillip Kerrington in her classroom. She sighed. "Do I want to know?"

"The common rooms and dormitories are a regular meeting of more than three students. We wouldn't want to break decree twenty-four." Neville told her solemnly.

"So instead you're breaking curfew?"

"Actually professor, the charter only states that students are not to be wandering the corridors after curfew, and are expected to be in bed. It says nothing about not being in your house dormitory." Phillip told her.

"Very well."

This went on for several nights, as every student insisted that they each individually had to obtain permission to return to their dormitories. They didn't want to be expelled, after all.

Then came the posters. Overnight, posters with slogans such as 'Join APRICOT! The Association for the Protection of Rabbits, Iguanas, Cats, Octopuses and Toads!' with pictures of Umbridge underneath. Each night, no matter how many patrols there were at least one new poster would spring up.

And then there was the gas epidemic. One day, a small first year Hufflepuff stood up at breakfast, and claimed she could smell gas.

"I smell it too!" cried a second year Slytherin.

"And me!"

"Me too!"

Five minutes later, the entire student body stood outside, refusing to come in until Umbridge checked each individual pipe. "After all, as high inquisitor isn't it your duty to raise standards in Hogwarts? A leaky pipe killing us all would hardly reflect well on you." A plucky Ravenclaw pointed out.

With a curse that had McGonagall reprimanding her, the woman stalked back into the school and the students spent an enjoyable day having all of their lessons outside, assisted by warming charms. "Does Hogwarts even have gas pipes?" Colin Creevey wondered.

The next day, Umbridge sat down to lunch as usual. She paid no attention to the snickers that arose from the students, or the stares and whispers that began amongst the teachers. No attention, that was, until she caught sight of herself in the reflection of her spoon.

"WEASLEYS!" She screeched, shooting to her feet. Only none of the redheads were in the great hall-all were writing a joint letter to Percy admonishing him for his hypocritical treatment of their parents and begging him to at least contact their mother. Instead, Harry, Luna and Ernie were sat at the far end of Gryffindor table, and they looked up as Seamus walked in and stopped dead at the sight of the headmistress.

Even Minerva was supressing laughter at the sight of the woman now with violently pink skin in a black, skin tight robe with horribly clashing line green hair. "WHERE ARE THEY?" She demanded.

"Delores, do you have proof that any of the Weasleys were responsible for this?" Dumbledore enquired. She spluttered.

"WHO ELSE?"

"Really Delores. There are hundreds of students in this school- you cannot blame any of them without proof blamed on past transgressions." Minerva admonished. Umbridge's eyes narrowed, but with a wave of professor Flitwick's wand a silencing charm prevented them from hearing anything else.

A few days later, the daily post for Umbridge was continuing but there had been no new pranks. None until one morning, the staff all came down for breakfast, but the students didn't.

In fact, no students appeared throughout the day. They weren't in their dormitories, none went to class, the corridors were empty. The ghosts knew nothing, the portraits were silent and the wards didn't register that any students had left the grounds. And yet a castle-wide search revealed nothing.

What the professors didn't know, was that the marauders had explored every inch of their castle during their seven years there, and found secrets that many other didn't know existed. In the dungeons, past the potions classroom and down the small corridor, through the passages and hidden in a small nook was a tiny entrance that led through a tight passageway and into a huge, cavernous room. It was there that every student from every house had gone before breakfast.

The planning had been a nightmare. Harry had had to find a day in which the education of the OWL and NEWT students wouldn't suffer too much, but that would cause an impact on Umbridge when they disappeared. Then, actually getting the students to agree to it was another hurdles while Rosalie had realised upon hearing Harry's plan that it could reflect very badly on Dumbledore, which although they weren't too bothered about, could have caused more problems in the long run and had led to them roping in Madam Bones to call an emergency Wizengamot meeting which required his presence. Then, Harry had gone to his aunt and told her to persuade the headmaster that he should leave Umbridge in charge in his absence, and also not to worry about any of the students that day. Bemused, but trusting that he knew what he was doing she agreed and did so.

The constant screeching from Umbrdge over the disappearance of the students meant that she was beginning to regret so.

The students spent an enjoyable day practising practical defence and being waited on by house elves. As night fell, the Weasley twins borrowed the marauders map and snuck outside, using various joke products to cause a ruckus and draw the professors outside. And then they rushed back, used the map to check that the coast was clear and several hundred disillusioned students rushed back to their common rooms, falling into bed.

The next day, all of them feigned obliviousness when asked where they were. Dumbledore returned, and a crimson Umbridge had to admit that under her care, not one student had attended a single lesson.

Few students attended DADA lessons anymore, instead choosing to study in the library. She gave detentions, and none attended them. She complained to their heads of houses, who pointed out that it contravened the educational decrees to talk about DADA with a student. She went to Dumbledore, who politely suggested that perhaps if she wasn't able to control her students, teaching wasn't for her.

The next day, the minister announced that due to the unsuitability of Dumbledore as headmaster based on the observations of the Hogwarts high inquisitor, Delores Umbridge was taking over as headmistress.

* * *

In Paris, the amusing anecdotes that sporadically came from Harry arrived amongst deep research into everything Voldemort and death eater related. Sirius spent much of the time when Rosalie was at school or practise in _Le Boulevard_ under a glamour, trawling the bookshops for information. When they each arrived home, Rosalie spent every moment she wasn't studying helping him organise the information and search for details on weaknesses.

On one such evening, Missy popped into the attic and handed Rose a letter that had arrived by owl, and the girl frowned when she glanced at the handwriting. "It's from Aunt Appolline… we're seeing her next week, why would she write…?"

She tore it open, reading it quickly. "What's wrong?" asked Sirius as he saw her pale.

"She needs to see us immediately. Tonight, she says." she explained, biting her lip. "What on earth could be so important?"

"I don't know, but get your coat." he urged. They rushed down to the floo point and headed to Delacour mansion where they were met by Jean-Claude.

"I am glad you came." He ushered them into the library where Appolline was waiting. "We 'ave been researching ze information zat you gave us."

"Zere are many books in our _bibliothèque_ zat are not available anywhere else." Appolline continued.

"We guessed, that's why we asked for your help." Rosalie agreed, eyeing the spread of books and papers on a desk.

"We zink we 'ave found ze ritual zat Voldemort used." Jean-Claude explained. Rosalie's eyes widened.

"But zere is a problem." Appolline continued. "Eef we are right, 'Arry eez in danger. We need to get 'im to ze Goblins."

Sirius frowned. "Goblins?"

"Sirius… 'ave you ever 'eard of an 'ocrux?"

 _ **Bibliothèque- library**_


	33. Chapter 33

_**Hi everyone- thanks for reading! I know my usual schedule for updating has gone a little wonky- i'm sorry, but my life has imploded somewhat! I'll attempt to keep it on track, but please be patient if I don't manage to! X**_

Harry was pale faced and horror struck when Jean-Claude explained what they'd discovered, the two of them tucked away with Minerva in her office while Neville kept watch with the Marauders map outside the door.

"I have a piece of his _soul_ in me?!"

"Harry, don't panic." Minerva soothed.

"DON'T PANIC?" he yelled. " _Fils de pute, tu plaisantes! J'en ai ral le cul de cet… cet salaud! Mon dieu, quand je vois cet dégénéré je vais le maudire alors que ses coquilles tombent!"_

"'Arry!" exclaimed Jean-Claude, half shocked and half amused at his language.

"This is why I have visions, isn't it?" he asked, wheeling around to look at them. "It's why occlumency doesn't work- how are you supposed to block a _soul_ that's inside you already!?"

"Harry, you're hysterical." Minerva told him calmly.

"I can't think why!"

Harry was pacing up and down, hands wringing in front of him while Minerva and Jean-Claude exchanged a worried look from their seats by the fire.

"'Arry, Appolline spoke wiz ze goblins and zey are willing to look at you. Zey may be able to 'elp."

"What if they can't?" Harry demanded. "What did the book say?" he narrowed his eyes when the pair exchanged a meaningful glance. "What?"

"Harry… the book stated that the only way to destroy a hocrux was to destroy the vessel it's in." Minerva admitted.

Harry felt his legs give out, and fell backwards into the chair Minerva quickly summoned behind him. "I have to die?"

"NO!" She cried. "No, we will find another way." She rose and crossed to him, holding his hands in hers. "There is no way we will let that happen, I swear, _a leannan._ "

"What if there isn't another way? If it's a choice between my life and the lives of the thousands he'd kill… there's isn't a choice. There's only one possible answer."

"'Arry, zere 'as never been a recorded case of a living 'ocrux." Jean-Claude interjected. "Zere are ozzer options, we just need to find zem. 'Ocruxes are very rare-"

A frantic knocking on the door had them all looking around. "Professor, Harry! Umbridge is headed this way!" Neville's voice came through the door.

" _Merde!_ " Jean-Claude rose and grabbed his invisibility cloak from where he'd laid it over the chair.

Neville slipped into the room, pale faced and clutching the map. "She's at the end of the corridor! She just appeared! There must be a passage there…"

"Is she coming here?" Minerva questioned urgently. Neville held out the map and the four watched with bated breath as the name on the map came closer and closer.

"Walk past, walk past." Prayed Harry.

But there was no such luck, and the name tag slowed as it approached the door to the office. "Sit!" hissed Minerva, pushing Harry and Neville into the seats by the desk. Jean-Claude rushed to the corner of the room and threw the cloak over himself, while Minerva frantically shuffled through essays to find the pile of fifth-years.

 _Knock knock knock._

"As you can see Mr Longbottom, your grades have been steadily improving over the past months with your most recent showing a large increase in percentage in comparison to the prior one…"

" _Hem hem."_

Minerva's eyes flicked up to the woman who had entered without warning. "Can I help you, Delores? I'm in the middle of something."

"Yes… I was rather wondering why Mr Potter and Mr Longbottom weren't in their dorms." She smiled falsely. Harry felt his heart rate speed up when he realised the map was still on the table, and he as subtly as he could he nudged Neville. Minerva raised an eyebrow at Umbridge.

"Oh? And what business is it of yours where two students spend their time?"

"Well, Mr Potter has a long history of getting into situations which are inappropriate for a student. Wouldn't you agree?"

" _ACHOO!"_ Neville sneezed suddenly, then looked sheepish. "Sorry."

Harry tucked the now deactivated map beneath his robes as Minerva began to talk slightly louder than necessary.

"I wouldn't want to comment on something outside my subject area, Delores. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to finish this before curfew." And with that, she turned back to Neville. "If you wanted to improve your grades further, Mr Longbottom, I suggest that you concentrate on improving your essays. You have a good grasp on the theory and core material, but seem to have trouble expressing yourself on paper-"

" _Hem hem._ "

"If needed, I suggest you might ask to borrow Padma Patil's essays- she has an excellent structure that she uses to get the highest marks-"

" _Hem hem!_ "

"What _is_ it Delores?" Minerva snapped.

"I wonder, Minerva, if we might talk outside?"

She huffed. "Really Delores, I'm in the middle of-"

"That's okay, professor, Neville and I will come back tomorrow." Harry said hastily, tugging the boy to his feet. "Good night. C'mon Nev."

"Night Professor McGonagall."

"Goodnight boys. Now what is it Delores?" they heard as they hurriedly left the office and raced back to their common room.

As they slowed before the fat lady, a thought occurred to Harry. "Aunt Minerva said that Umbridge has a tendency to lecture the other professors on teaching methods. Poor Uncle Jean- he could be stuck there a while."

"Let's just hope he doesn't sneeze."

* * *

The pranks on Umbridge had only become worse since she had been made headmistress, but Harry took little notice. He went through school in a daze, only making it to classes through his worried friends' intervention.

His grades began to drop, which so close to his exams prompted a stern lecture from Minerva and several angry letters from his family in France. Eventually, it was Rose, over the mirror, who knocked some sense in.

" _Mon dieu, 'Arry,_ are you really going to allow that psychopathic inbred to ruin your exams and your entire future as well? It is not as if he can take you over at any moment- if he could, he already would have! You are being an utter idiot!"

Her words partly worked- instead of neglecting his work, Harry threw himself into it to the total exclusion of almost everything else. The only thing that distracted him, in fact, was the rather loud exit the twins made after Umbridge had made offensive comments to them and their family. The permanent swamp, onset of dungbombs and stinkpellets and the sudden and repeated occurrences of 'Umbridge-itis' meant that the toad was constantly running about the corridors, assisted only by Filch. This had also prompted several amusing articles in the quibbler on the nature of their relationship- one suspected that they were having an affair, another claimed 'unnamed sources' had revealed Flich was Umbridge's secret love-child (but the ages don't match up, Hermione had said in confusion upon reading this over breakfast) and another thought Filch was her secret brother.

Harry knew that a stressed Rose was struggling to cope with magical and muggle exams at the same time- the one time he tried to call her on the mirror, she'd asked if there was an emergency, snapped at him for disturbing her when he said there wasn't and promptly hung up. Eventually, Sirius informed him, Missy had forced a large batch of calming potion down her throat and took to popping her from the British ministry and back to school so she could take her exams. It occurred to Harry at one point that on the balance of probability, there should have been clashes in when she was supposed to be in different exams, but she'd never mentioned it and by the time he next spoke to her or Sirius, he'd forgotten to ask.

His own exams were passing quickly- there were several of the fifth years that commandeered a classroom on the fifth floor and used it as an unofficial study group. Even Hermione joined it, despite them taking turns to stun her and take her to Madam Pomphrey for a calming draught. Although he thought he might have messed up with the definition of a Switching Spell during his transfiguration written paper, his arithmancy exam wasn't as bad as he feared, though Rose swore so violently when he said this that despite the fact she was hundreds of miles away he had to resist the urge to duck.

His astronomy exam was interrupted, however, when partway through he saw five or six elongated shadows moving over the brightly lit grass before the castle, before the doors swung shut and the lawn became a sea of darkness.

Harry put his eye back to his telescope and refocused it, now examining Venus. He looked down at his chart to enter the planet there, but something distracted him; pausing with his quill suspended over the parchment, he squinted down into the shadowy grounds and saw half a dozen figures walking over the lawn. If they had not been moving, and the moonlight had not been gilding the tops of their heads, they would have been indistinguishable from the dark ground on which they walked. Even at this distance, Harry had a funny feeling he recognised the walk of the squattest of them, who seemed to be leading the group.

He could not think why Umbridge would be taking a stroll outside after midnight, much less accompanied by five others but he didn't like it. Then somebody coughed behind him, and he remembered that he was halfway through an exam. He had quite forgotten Venus's position. Jamming his eye to his telescope, he found it again and was once more about to enter it on his chart when, alert for any odd sound, he heard a distant knock which echoed through the deserted grounds, followed immediately by the muffled barking of a large dog.

He looked up, his heart hammering. There were lights on in Hagrid's windows and the people he had observed crossing the lawn were now silhouetted against them. The door opened and he distinctly saw six sharply defined figures walk over the threshold. The door closed again and there was silence.

Harry felt very uneasy. He glanced around to see whether Ron or Hermione had noticed what he had, but Professor Marchbanks came walking behind him at that moment and, not wanting to look as though he was sneaking looks at anyone else's work, Harry hastily bent over his star-chart and pretended to be adding notes to it while really peering over the top of the parapet towards Hagrid's cabin. Figures were now moving across the cabin windows, temporarily blocking the light.

He could feel Professor Marchbanks's eyes on the back of his neck and pressed his eye again to his telescope, staring up at the moon though he had marked its position an hour ago, but as Professor Marchbanks moved on he heard a roar from the distant cabin that echoed through the darkness right to the top of the Astronomy Tower. Several of the people around Harry ducked out from behind their telescopes and peered instead in the direction of Hagrid's cabin.

Professor Tofty gave another dry little cough. "Try and concentrate, now, boys and girls." he said softly. Most people returned to their telescopes. Harry looked to his left. Hermione was gazing transfixed at Hagrid's cabin. "Ahem - twenty minutes to go." said Professor Tofty.

Hermione jumped and returned at once to her star-chart; Harry looked down at his own and noticed that he had mis-labelled Venus as Mars. He bent to correct it, knowing Rose would never let him live it down if he failed astronomy.

There was a loud BANG from the grounds. Several people cried 'Ouch!' when they poked themselves in the face with the ends of their telescopes as they hastened to see what was going on below.

Hagrid's door had burst open and by the light flooding out of the cabin they saw him quite clearly, a massive figure roaring and brandishing his fists, surrounded by six people, all of whom, judging by the tiny threads of red light they were casting in his direction, seemed to be attempting to Stun him.

Harry gasped, his wand automatically already in his hand as he leaned over to try to get a clearer view as jets of red light were still flying about beside Hagrid's cabin, yet somehow they seemed to be bouncing off him; he was still upright and still, as far as Harry could see, fighting. Cries and yells echoed across the grounds; a man yelled, "Be reasonable, Hagrid!"

Hagrid roared, "Reasonable be damned, yeh won' take me like this, Dawlish!"

"Aurors?" Harry breathed in confusion. He could see the tiny outline of Fang, attempting to defend Hagrid, leaping repeatedly at the wizards surrounding him until a Stunning Spell caught him and he fell to the ground. Hagrid gave a howl of fury, lifted the culprit bodily from the ground and threw him; the man flew what looked like ten feet and did not get up again. Hermione gasped, both hands over her mouth; Harry looked round at Ron and saw that he, too, was looking scared. None of them had ever seen Hagrid in a real temper before.

"Look!" squealed Parvati, who was leaning over the parapet and pointing to the foot of the castle where the front doors had opened again; more light was spilling out on to the dark lawn and a single long black shadow was now rippling across the lawn.

"Now, really!" said Professor Tofty anxiously. "Only sixteen minutes left, you know!"

But nobody paid him the slightest attention: they were watching the person now sprinting towards the battle beside Hagrid's cabin.

"How dare you!" the figure shouted as she ran. "How dare you!"

"It's McGonagall!" realised Hermione. Harry already knew- his knuckles were white from where they gripped the stone ledge in front of him, heart thumping.

"Leave him alone! Alone, I say!" said Professor McGonagall's voice through the darkness. "On what grounds are you attacking him? He has done nothing, nothing to warrant such-!"

"AUNTIE!" Harry threw out his hand without thinking, willing with all his might for Minerva to be out of the path of the four Stunners that the figures around the cabin had shot.

Hermione, Parvati and Lavender all screamed as red bolts arched through the air but Minerva had careened to the side, hitting the ground hard and with an audible _thump,_ but seemingly avoiding the stunners.

Harry didn't wait, he sprinted out of the tower, ignoring the shouts of the examiners behind him and raced down the steps far faster than was safe. He even leapt the rails a few times, skipping entire floors and paying no attention to the pain that radiated up from his ankles and knees, bursting out of the castle in time to see Hagrid run full-pelt towards the distant gates with Fang hung around his neck, disappearing into the darkness.

He ran straight at the motionless form of his aunt however. " _Tata?_ " he dropped to his knees, rolling her over gently and fumbling to check her pulse, gasping in relief when he felt it thrumming beneath his fingers. " _Tata? Tata,_ wake up!"

There was no reaction from her, and his heart rated accelerated.

" _Expecto Patronum_!" he yelled, and thought desperately of the Christmas of his first year, willing the stag to appear in front of him. It did so, albeit more faintly than usual. "Go to Madam Pomphrey- tell her Aunt Minerva is hurt outside the front doors! Hurry!"

The stag galloped off and her turned back to his aunt, trembling fingers checking that she was breathing. " _Ennervate._ " He pointed his wand with a shaking hand, but the spell did nothing and she remained still. "Wake up, please wake up." His whisper went unheard; he longed to pick her up and race to the hospital wing himself, but didn't dare move her.

"POTTER!" Umbridge was stalking in his direction, eyes blazing, the four aurors still chasing after Hagrid. Hatred surged through him; he wanted her _gone._

And he felt his magic well up, and a light careered from him to her, hitting her square in the chest and causing her to vanish. He blinked.

"Mr Potter?" Madam Pomphrey was racing towards him, fear clear on her face and all thoughts of Umbridge left him.

"I don't know what's wrong with her." He explained frantically. "Ennervate doesn't work, but she's breathing okay and her heart rate is normal."

She dropped beside him and was already casting with her wand, lips moving soundlessly.

"Madam Pomphrey?"

"Go get Professor Snape." She ordered. He simply cast another patronus to fetch the potions master.

"I'm not leaving her."

And he didn't, trailing silently after them as they carried her up to the hospital wing. Madame Pomphrey drew the screens around her bed but that didn't bother him- he simply settled himself on the bed he usually ended up in and nibbled his lip while he waited for news.

The hours ticked by- every so often, a potion would zip across the room into the screened off area, but no one emerged. All of the professors passed through, glancing at him curiously but would inevitably leave.

"Harry?" he looked up in surprise- it was well past curfew, so Neville standing in the doorway of the hospital wing was unexpected. "I brought you this."

He held out the communication mirror. "Thanks Nev." His voice croaked- both pretended not to notice. Neville took a seat next to him as he called his sister's name.

"'Arry? _Qu'est-ce que c'est? C'est trois."_ his sister appeared bleary eyed, blinking in confusion as she warded off a yawn.

" _Oú-est Sirius?_ "

Rose narrowed her eyes at him. " _Pourquoi?"_

" _C'est important, Rosalie. A-_ "

"Rose? Is something wrong?" Sirius's voice came through the door. "I heard voices and saw your light…"

"It's Harry." She shifted so he could see the screen.

"What's wrong pup?"

"It's… It's aunt Min. There were aurors- I think it's my fault. I didn't mean to- Umbridge-"

Sirius and Rose both looked baffled, but increasingly worried as Harry buried his face in his hands. Neville gently took the mirror from him and explained the best he could what had happened.

"Mr Potter." Both boys jumped as Professor Snape stood in front of them. "Your aunt is going to be fine. You seem to have unconsciously performed a summoning spell that prevented the stunners from hitting her. But do you, by chance, know what happened to Professor Umbridge?"

Harry paled. "Oh no! I think I did something to her… I'm not sure, I didn't mean to! But I was so worried about aunt Minerva, and she was coming and I just wanted her gone! And then she was!"

There was a silence.

"Is it possible to accidently vanish a person?" ventured Neville. Snape shrugged.

"I shall contact the ministry." Harry paled even further. "Don't worry Mr Potter." Snape sneered. "Even fifteen year olds are allowed to be emotional when their aunt is lying injured. I'm sure the boy-who-lived will not get in trouble."

And with that he swept out of the room.

* * *

Harry raced through the halls of Hogwarts. It was night time, and the corridors were dark. Their exams had finished that afternoon, and they had all celebrated. And now…

He didn't stop running, dashing up the staircases lit only by his wand.

He burst into the darkened hospital wing. There were three figures at the far end lying in beds- one was his aunt, he knew, but instead of going to that end of the room he began to search the area where he and Neville had sat earlier that day.

Under the bed, under the covers, the bedside cabinet- all were empty.

"Mr Potter?" Madam Pomphrey had a dressing gown belted tightly around her waist, confusion etched over her face.

"Madam Pomphrey! Did you find a mirror here?" her asked urgently. She frowned.

"What…?"

"Did you find one?!"

"I- No, Mr Potter, I didn't." she answered, her frown deepening as she came closer. "It's the middle of the night, what are you doing?"

"Poppy?" a light flickered on at the end of the room, and with relief Harry saw Minerva blinking in confusion as she peered at them. "Harry? What's wrong?"

"Stay in bed Minerva! Mr Potter?"

"I had a vision! From Voldemort! I need that mirror to figure out if it's real or not!" he yelled, spinning to check under the pillow.

"You-know-who is dead, you wicked boy!" a shrill voice interjected, and Harry saw with disappointment that someone had apparently managed to restore Umbridge from whatever he'd done to her.

"VOLDEMORT IS ALIVE!" He screamed, stalking towards her. The three women stared at him, stunned. "HE KILLED CEDRIC, HE IS ALIVE AND HE IS ABOUT TO KILL MY SISTER!"

"Harry!" Minerva called, struggling to get out of bed. "What are you talking about?"

"Rose! I can't find the mirror to contact her! I don't know where she is!"

"Summon it." Said a small voice. Astoria Greengrass was sitting up wide eyed in the bed at the very end of the hall. Harry felt like slapping himself.

" _Accio_ communication mirror!"

It flew out from the side of the mattress and into his waiting hand. "Rosalie!" he called frantically. The connection buzzed, waiting to be confirmed on the other end and every second felt like an hour, ticking away on the clock in the corner.

"Rosie…" he whispered, hope fading as there was no answer.

"Harry? Are calls in middle of the night going to become a habit?"

"Rosie!" he breathed in relief, legs collapsing beneath him; Madam Pomphrey rushed to summon a chair behind him.

The blonde haired girl tilted her head at him. "What's wrong? I thought aunt Minerva was alright?"

"I am." Minerva called out.

"Harry?"

"I had a vision. Voldemort… he had you and Sirius in the department of mysteries." Harry explained to her. "He was… you were in danger. And I couldn't contact you."

"Harry, we're both fine. In fact, I can hear Sirius snoring."

"Aha!" Umbridge shrieked suddenly. "You're in contact with Sirius Black! I'll have you for this Potter, you mark my-"

" _Obliviate!"_

Harry stared at his aunt in shock. "Auntie!"

"What?" she sniffed.

"Minerva!" Poppy scolded. "You're supposed to be resting!"

Minerva looked startled, then smiled blushingly. "Sorry."

"Um, Astoria? Could you… not mention any of this?" Harry asked sheepishly. The girl grinned, while the two women looked alarmed, having forgotten the presence of the young Slytherin.

"Mention what? I'm ill- I've been asleep all night." She turned over and snuggled back down into bed, snoring exaggeratedly.

Harry snorted. "Thanks. Sorry to wake you Rosie."

"Not to worry. Be careful. _Bonne nuit,_ everyone."

The mirror went blank and Harry sighed, rubbing his scar as a new realisation occurred to him. "Wonderful. Voldemort knows about the connection."

 _ **Fils de pute, tu plaisantes! J'en ai ral le cul de cet… cet salaud! Mon dieu, quand je vois cet dégénéré je vais le maudire alors que ses coquilles tombent- (let's just say Harry is really annoyed and leave it at that… use your imagination :-/ )**_

" _ **Oú-est Sirius?"- Where is Sirius?**_

" _ **Pourquoi?"- Why?**_

" _ **C'est important, Rosalie."- It's important Rosalie**_


	34. Chapter 34

A few days later, one morning Rose was hopping on one foot and tugging her shoe on the other when Sirius jogged downstairs, face dark with anger and her mirror in his hand. She looked puzzled, straightening up but before she could question him he handed her the mirror.

"That cow." He said lowly, his voice shaking.

Rose glanced at the mirror, saw Harry and Neville.

"What's going on?"

"Umbridge is using a blood quill on Harry." Neville explained in a rush. "I saw it earlier."

"What?!"

Now she looked, Rose realised her brother was pale and cradling his hand. "Tell Aunt Min." she said instantly, but Harry shook his head.

"Things are… complicated here." He said hesitantly. She raised an eyebrow.

"Uncomplicate them for me."

"Umbridge seems to think there's going to be an uprising against the ministry" He explained exasperatedly. Rose let out an amused laugh.

"You are joking?"

"No." Harry shook his head. "I've been listening to Umbridge- they think Dumbledore was training his own private army and that I've taken over. She even tried to incite an inter-house war, but last week she put one of the Slytherin first years in detention with the quill and now the whole house hates her, regardless of politics. They do look after their own. And to top it off she's got it out for Aunt Min- she thinks that she knows where Dumbledore and Hagrid are. She's still recovering, I can't stress her out even more."

"Harry-"

"No Rose. We have enough problems without adding to them. I've been using the blood quill for most of the year now- I can last a little longer. Umbridge has been here almost a year; the DADA curse should kick in anytime."

She sighed in frustration, noting a similar look on Sirius's face. "Fine. Good luck." Rose told him just before he and Neville vanished. She glanced at Sirius.

"A blood quill in a detention? That can't be legal…"

He looked grim. "That depends on just how scared Fudge is."

" _Merde._ "

* * *

Harry was sat at breakfast a few weeks before the end of term with Fay Dunbar and Neville at his side, hiding his hand under the table as he ate awkwardly with his left while trying not to attract attention. By the strange looks Ron was giving him from across the table, he wasn't succeeding.

"Guys!" Ginny rushed up to them, skidding to a stop with an excited expression. "There are aurors searching Madame Umbridge's office!"

Harry choked on his eggs.

"Really?" Hermione looked eager from where she sat, head whipping around to find the woman at the head table. It wasn't hard- the bright pink stood out like a beacon amongst the more sedate robes of the other teachers. She seemed unaware of the goings on, busy spooning a large spoonful of porridge into her gaping mouth. "Why?"

"I don't know." she sat down, hushing her voice but she had still caught the attention of everyone around them.

"My aunt is here too- I saw her earlier but she just said she would talk to me later." Susan added from the Hufflepuff table. Ernie looked curious.

"Why would she be involved?"

"Who's your aunt?" Dean questioned.

"Amelia Bones; the head of the DMLE." Seamus answered him. "Do you think they'll arrest her?"

Ron looked delighted. "I hope so!"

"Maybe she'll receive help with her nargle infestation." Luna said in a dreamy voice, skipping over to perch next to Ginny.

Harry remained silent, eyes flicking back and forth to where the hated teacher sat. He was so distracted that he hadn't noticed that Neville hadn't said a word either.

By now, whispers had travelled up and down the hall as snippets of conversation reached other people and almost everyone was buzzing excitedly, casting surreptitious glanced towards the head table. Inevitably, Umbridge had noticed and was scanning the students with narrowed eyes. Unfortunately, at the exact moment Harry risked a glance towards her, her gaze locked onto him and their eyes met for a split second. Her mouth tightened as she rose.

"Uh oh…" he muttered, wolfing down the toast on his plate in the hope she would change course before she could reach him.

"Mr Potter." She trilled, attempting to loom over him. He sighed. No such luck.

"Good morning Professor." He said politely, gritting his teeth.

"Mr Potter, I do believe the message I was trying to teach you hasn't quite _sunk in._ " she simpered. "We will extend your detentions for another week, I think."

He took a deep breath, calming his temper. "Yes Professor." He said courteously.

"Actually Mr Potter, that would be 'No Professor'." A voice interrupted and Harry looked up in surprise. Madam Bones had stridden in, followed by several other aurors, eyes flaming as she stopped in front of them. "Mr Potter, may I see your hand?" she asked softly. Harry stared at her, wide eyed. "Harry?"

Silently, slowly, he raised his hand to her and she took gently, jaw clenching when she saw the raised white words on the back of it. She gently stroked her thumb over them. "Thank you." She released it, and looked backwards. "Aurors?"

Two of them stepped forwards and gripped Umbridge's upper arms. She spluttered incoherently for a moment. "You- I- What is the meaning of this!?"

"Delores Umbridge, you are under arrest for the unlawful possession of a restricted dark object, the unlawful use of said object, assault of a minor, abuse of a minor and on multiple counts of corruption and the acceptance of bribes. The ICW is charging you separately with the abuse of a foreign national." Madame Bones told her flatly. Umbridge turned an interesting shade of purple, opening and closing her mouth several times as the aurors began to pull her towards the doors.

"You can't do this!" she exploded, struggling in their grip. "I work for the minister! UNHAND ME!"

The aurors barely slowed, tightening their grip and hauling her along between them. "You filthy half-breeds! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT! I work for the minister. Mr Potter! TELL THEM! Tell them they're wrong! MR POTTER!"

Harry rose, regarding the woman who was looking desperately over her shoulder. "I'm sorry Professor." He said, voice hard. "But I must not tell lies."

"You traitorous MUDBLOOD!" She shrieked. The hall watched in silence as the screaming woman was promptly stunned by a pink haired auror. Everyone stared.

Tonks shrugged sheepishly. "She was getting on my nerves."

A beat passed.

Then another.

And the hall erupted into cheers and clapping, whooping and screaming as Madame Bones looked shocked. Ginny was jumping up and down, hugging Harry so tightly he couldn't breathe properly.

"Ding Dong, the toad is gone! Which old toad? The pink old toad! Ding dong the pink old toad is gone!" Some muggleborns from Hufflepuff had started singing, and soon the song was picked up by most in the hall, even many of the purebloods were clapping along and singing the bits they could.

"She was really quite unpopular." Observed Madam Bones. Harry grinned sheepishly at her.

"Yeah…"

Amongst the chaos, Hedwig swooped in and landed neck to him, hooting softly when he reached over to untie the letter from her. "Hello girl!" he greeted over the noise. He blinked in surprise when he saw his name written in Rosalie's handwriting on the front and tore it open.

 _Sorry, but you didn't really think we would do nothing, did you?_

 _R & S_

He grinned, shaking his head slightly as a hand tapped his shoulder. "Harry?" Neville looked nervous. "I'm really sorry, I know I said I wouldn't tell but I couldn't let her carry on hurting you when I could stop it. So I told my gran and asked her to help and I told Susan so she could tell her aunt and ask for her help as well… are you angry?"

Harry stared at him in bewilderment for a long moment but before he could answer a loud noise like a cannon went off. Many people instinctively ducked.

"CHILDREN!" Minerva yelled with a magically enhanced voice. The hall quietened and she gave them an uncharacteristic smile. "I understand the… ah… cause for celebration, but please sit down to breakfast so that Madam Bones can complete her job."

"Thank you Minerva." The woman nodded to the headmaster as the students found their seats, whispering excitedly. And Harry smiled when he noted that not all their seats were necessarily at their tables- Daphne, Tracey and Blaise were now sitting next the Patil twins across from him and Neville, and Hannah, Susan and Ernie were on the other side of Hermione who was gripping his arm so tightly he could feel her nails through his clothes.

"Another teacher gone. Maybe next year's one will be competent!" she whispered excitedly. At the Slytherin table, there were other Hufflepuffs sitting with their friends and there were more of the other houses at the Ravenclaw table than Ravenclaws. Harry patted Hermione's hand.

"Nev." He hissed, and slid the letter over to him. "You weren't the only one."

Neville looked at the note, realisation quickly replacing his initial bemusement before he smiled tentatively at Harry, who grinned at him.

"Students! My aurors will need to talk with each of you one at a time!" Madame Bones called. "Please remain seated in here until then!"

She swept up to the head table, where a silenced discussion took place between her, other aurors and several of the teachers. Harry frowned when he realised his aunt wasn't amongst them; he began to scan the hall in confusion.

Ginny touched his arm. "What's wrong?"

"Where's Aun- Professor McGonagall?" he questioned.

Lavender heard him. "She just slipped out the side door." She gestured. Harry bit his lip.

"Cover for me." He hissed at the group, ducking at the waist as he slipped from the table and rushed from the hall, straightening once he had and running around to the corridor where the side door led out to. " _Tata?_ "

He jogged down the hall, running past an alcove with a tabby cat sat in it before he skidded to a stop, backtracking. " _Tata?_ "

The cat looked up at him wearily. Harry sat down on the bench beside her and after a pause his human aunt was sat next to him.

"You foolish boy." She whispered. "You moronic, self-sacrificing, idiotic _dunderhead!_ " Harry looked at her, hurt. "Harry- why didn't you tell me?"

"I… what?"

"Why didn't you tell me!? How in the world could you let that… that… that _Baobh_ torture you?!" she cried. "Why wouldn't you come to me for help?!"

"I did! You told me to keep my head down!"

She stared at him in horror. "Harry… no! No… I didn't mean- I was talking about Voldemort and the ministry. I would never have- I didn't mean-"

She buried her head in her hands. "Oh _a leannan,_ I am so sorry…"

Tentatively Harry moved closer, gently tugging her hands away so he could look at her. "It wasn't your fault Auntie. I didn't mean that it was. Umbridge would have gone after you, she would have ruined you! I wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of knowing she'd got to me! I didn't mean that any of this was your fault- I just meant that there wasn't anything you could have done."

She reached out and hugged him tightly. "I could have hexed her." Her voice was muffled against his shoulder.

"Because that would have solved everything." He commented dryly. She let out a laugh, resting her cheek on his head.

"I'm so sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about." He told her instantly. She smiled weakly, then lifted her head when the sound of yet more yelling reached them.

"What now?"

Harry looked confused. "Is that… is that uncle Jean?"

Minerva blinked. "I believe it is, yes. What's he doing here?"

They rose, and Minerva tugged him down the hall with her and through the door to the side of the hall where they were met with the bizarre sight of Jean-Claude facing down Albus Dumbledore, with a contingent of French aurors at his back.

"When did he get back?" Harry whispered.

"I don't know…"

"This eez a notice warning you of ze intention of the French ministry to press charges against you and any ozzer people involved in ze kidnap of any French national. This includes 'Arry Potter-Vance and 'is adoptive seester Rosalie Vance. Any attempt to remove zem, prevent zem from returning or interfering wiz zem on or off of French soil will be taken az an attack on France eetself. Eez that understood, _monsieur?_ "

Dumbledore was spluttering. "Adoptive sister? French national?"

"Eez that understood, _monsieur?!_ " Jean-Claude repeated forcefully.

"I… I do not recognise your authority on British soil Minister Delacour." Dumbledore eventually managed to fumble out. Jean-Claude's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"For heavens sake, Albus!" Minerva exclaimed. "Don't be a fool! Jean-Claude could have you arrested for your kidnapping stunt last summer- you should be thanking him on your knees for not doing so! You just got back!"

"He's right." Snape crossed his arms, glaring at the people who turned to look at him in surprise.

"Kidnapping stunt?" Amelia Bones frowned. "What are you talking about? And how exactly did you know to come here, Dumbleore?"

Dumbledore's eyes had widened almost imperceptibly and Minerva could practically see him calculating the best move from here. "Albus!" she yelled.

"I understand, Minister." The old man agreed quickly, casting a nervous look towards his deputy. She nodded, satisfied and Jean-Claude turned on his heel to walk out. He cast a wink towards Harry and Minerva as he did so, unseen by anyone else.

"What kidnapping?" Madam Bones asked again, a little annoyed.

"It doesn't matter now, Madam Bones." Harry assured her. She narrowed her eyes, looking put out but gave a curt nod.

"Actually, I think it matters quite a lot..."

Harry froze.

Slowly, he turned towards the voice, which had come from behind several of the French aurors.

" _Maman?"_

They stood motionless, the rest of the room falling away; the noise and sounds and sights becoming startlingly dim as green eyes processed what was in front of them.

" _Maman_!" a joyful shout accompanied the blur as Harry raced towards his mother, who let out a tearful sob as she rushed forward to embrace him fiercely.

" _Mon fils…_ " she breathed. Harry drew back slightly to look at her, tears trailing down his cheeks.

"How-?" he choked out.

"Severus."

Harry both looked around at the uncomfortable man. " _Merci professeur._ " He breathed as her mother stepped forward to embrace Minerva, who was smiling tearfully.

"It's about time you got back. Your children are hellions."

Emmeline grinned proudly. "They are, aren't they?"

Harry beamed.

He noticed Dumbledore gaping at them, looking from Emmeline to Minerva and then to him, uncharacteristically baffled.

"But… I thought-" he muttered to himself. Harry tilted his head at him, meeting his eyes calmly. "Rosalie Vance told me that she was-"

"No. You assumed." Harry corrected.

He sputtered, but Harry had already turned back to Emmeline and slid back into her arms. "Are you home for good? Have you seen Rose yet? Do you know about Voldemort? Do you know about Sirius? Are you healed completely?"

Emmeline laughed lightly, brushing her fingers over his face. " _Calmez-vous,_ Harry." she smiled warmly. "Talk to Madam Bones first, and then I am sure Minerva will not mind if I bring you home sooner than usual."

"Of course not." Minerva smiled. Harry nodded in agreement, glancing at Madam Bones who gestured for him to follow her. Harry trailed after her to where the aurors had commandeered a corridor of small, unused classrooms to use as interview rooms, preparing himself for a very long day.

* * *

Harry bounced lightly on his toes as he stood with his mother outside the doors of the dance school where Rosalie was currently being lifted in the air upside down. Emmeline looked uncharacteristically nervous, nibbling her lip slightly and Harry was almost positive she stopped breathing when Madame DuBois announced the end of the class and the students began to file out, laughing amongst themselves. Rose was one of the last, chatting happily with a brunette named Florence and a younger girl called Camille.

She didn't spot them immediately, caught up with her friends and the amusements of the class bully being put in her place by the new girl. But then she happened to glance up, and stopped dead.

Emmeline stepped forward slightly, gazing at her daughter who was stood frozen, pale and disbelieving. Harry smiled slightly at Florence and Camille, mouthing for them to go.

"Rose..." Emmeline whispered. Harry saw his sister swallow but she still didn't move, a look of disbelief still on her face as she blinked deliberately as if to clear her eyes. "Rose." Emmeline repeated, drawing ever closer until she was near enough to touch the petite blonde if she only reached out her hand. "My lovely Rosalie..."

" _Maman..._ " this was a half gasp, half sob, barely audible as Rosalie fell forward into her mother's arm, embracing her tightly as she buried her face in her shoulder. " _Maman_ … _!"_

* * *

The trip home had been slower than usual with both children constantly attached to their mother in some way. None had minded, however- the sun was warm on their backs and even the threat of Voldemort and deatheaters hadn't intruded as the children chatted about what Emmeline had missed the past few years.

They got home, a smile growing on Emmeline's face as she looked around her fondly, happy to be home.

"Rose? Is that you?"

Sirius was calling from the kitchen and both children paled as they realised that in all their chatter, they had failed to alert their mother to the change in the former convict's circumstances.

" _Maman-_ " Rose began urgently but there wasn't time to say anything else as Sirius appeared, shock colouring his expression as what he was seeing registered.

"Emmeline…"

Sirius looked strangely wide-eyes as he gazed at her mother, who in return looked stricken. Harry and Rose exchanged a frantic look, wands in their hands and minds blank.

"Siri…" Emmeline whispered. She stepped forward, biting her lip. "Minerva told me… I'm so sorry. I thought that you had betrayed them- I didn't know- I thought you were the secret keeper-" she stammered, and Sirius looked flabbergasted.

" _You're_ apologising to _me?_ Emmy, I should be apologising to you! If we had told you the truth- if I hadn't persuaded you to go on that assignment-"

Emmeline shook her head. "I should have trusted you. I should have known you would never have hurt James and Lily… or me."

Tears were tracking down her cheeks as she stepped closer to him, a shaking hand raised to cup his cheek. He brought his own up to place over it, nuzzling into her palm as he swallowed thickly.

"Minerva?" Rose whispered to Harry once she could breath again. He nodded.

"I was talking to Madam Bones… they must have spoken then..."

"Maybe we were both idiots." Sirius murmured hoarsely. Emmeline let out a sob, stepping forward to wrap her arms around him and then they were clinging to each other, faces buried in the other's shoulder as fingers wrapped themselves in material.

Harry and Rose exchanged a surprised look, then grinned at each other and silently slipped out of the front door and into the garden. They lounged in the evening sun as Harry regaled the story of exactly what had transpired earlier that day, eventually joined by Minerva who had escaped Dumbledore and left the students in the hands of the other staff.

"I didn't know Uncle Jean was going to do that." Commented Rose thoughtfully.

"Bit of a surprise for me as well." Harry said dryly.

"Who's going to teach DADA now?" she questioned. Minerva shrugged from her place next to Harry.

"We don't know. Dumbledore is desperately trying to find someone so that the ministry can't place their own person but it isn't looking particularly hopeful."

"How did Dumbledore know to come back?"

Minerva sighed. "I don't know. I asked him but he just said that 'he had his ways of knowing'. Daft old narcissist."

Rose snorted. "What about an auror to teach DADA?" she suggested. "Or even several of them to rotate…"

"The minister would have kittens." Harry grinned.

"Why? Voldemort hasn't returned- surely it wouldn't matter if an auror took a few hours out each day to impart some wisdom." Rose said innocently. Minerva smiled tiredly.

"I'll suggest it." She promised.

"I have some news that might be good." Sirius piped up from behind them. They all looked up as he and Emmeline came to join them and Minerva looked mildly hopeful.

"That would be most welcome."

"I have a date for the trial." He announced. Their faces lit up. "23rd August at 1.30pm."

"That's brilliant!" Harry grinned. Minerva nodded her agreement.

"Was Amelia able to keep it quiet Sirius?" she questioned.

He nodded, Emmeline gripping his hand tightly. "The Wizengamot don't know who the trial is for exactly… speaking of, Harry, can I borrow your cloak that day?"

"Of course." He grinned happily. "You're going to be free Sirius!"

A slow smile grew over the man's face. "I am, aren't I?"

 _ **Mon fils- My son**_

 _ **Calmez-vous- Calm yourself**_


	35. Chapter 35

_**Hi everyone! I know I've said it before, but I really am terrible at responding to reviews and I apologise! To the people who asked about Emmeline's storyline- yes, all will be revealed! There is a plan!**_

 _ **To everyone else, thank you for reading! x**_

Harry never did return to Hogwarts, choosing to remain at home and reconnect with Emmeline alongside Rosalie, who took a week long sick day from all her classes and lessons. Minerva didn't have that luxury and needed to return to school; she apparated back to France often over the weekends, where on one such occasion she found a deathly-pale Emmeline was half asleep in the living room.

"What are you doing in here in this state? You should go to bed for a bit." Minerva murmured. Emmeline shook her head.

"I needed to talk with you."

"Oh?"

"It's about Rose."

Minerva lowered herself onto the sofa. "What about her?"

"I realised something was missing in amongst all the stories she and Harry have been telling me. Minerva, just after I was- let's call it ill- and before Sirius moved in, where was Rose living?"

Minerva blinked. "Here." she answered, a little puzzled. Emmeline frowned.

"Then who else was living here?"

Minerva had an uncomfortable feeling she knew where this was going. "Missy was..."

"And…?"

"Full time, just Missy." she swallowed.

Emmeline's face darkened. "Minerva, are you telling me that my then ten-year-old daughter was living alone with a house elf for almost two years!"

"Emmeline, it's not what you think-" Minerva began hastily but was interrupted by her furious companion.

"I don't think there's any other way to interpret that!" she snapped. "What in Merlin's name were you thinking?"

"Emmeline." Minerva said firmly, forcing the younger woman to listen to her. "Just listen. I had two choices- I could force a distraught young girl to leave her home, her friends, her school and everything she knew against her will to go to a boarding school she didn't wish to be at. Or I could allow her to remain- with supervision- in her home, having the education and life she wanted. Would you rather i'd torn her away from her life?"

"She was ten years old!" Emmeline protested.

"But she wasn't a normal ten-year-old!" Minerva retorted. "She and Harry have never been normal children! And that isn't a condemnation because you gave them a fantastic childhood, but they've spent their lives preparing to fight a war. Emmeline..." she reached out to grasp her hand tightly. "I would never have allowed her to remain here if I thought she couldn't cope. She had Missy, she had to talk to Harry or myself every day and Appolline and Jean-Claude were here at least once a week while I visited almost every weekend. She wasn't alone, Emmeline."

"That's not the same as being cared for." Emmeline argued, wrapping an arm around her middle as she winced.

"I know. But she did have Missy, who if I recall correctly, you yourself left Rose with for entire days when she was younger."

"Days are very different to months."

"Yes." Minerva agreed. "But do you really think that if Missy had informed me Rose was struggling to cope, or her grades were slipping or anything at all was wrong, do you really think I would have continued to allow her to live here?"

Emmeline closed her eyes briefly. "No." she murmured. "No, you adore her. But she was still a child, who needed an adult around- you should not have left her alone. I'm so angry with you, Minerva."

"I did what I thought was best."

"Did you? Or did you do what was easiest for you and your career?"

With difficulty, she rose from her seat and left the house without another word, apparating to the hospital as soon as she was beyond the wards. Lost in her thoughts, she endured the poking and prodding by the healers without a murmur, not even registering the various people leaving and entering the room.

"EMMELINE!"

She jumped violently. Severus Snape was glaring at her.

"We are not doing this for _our_ benefit. If you would kindly _pay attention!_ "

Emmeline looked abashed. "Sorry Severus. I'm just preoccupied."

"What could _possibly_ be so distracting?" he muttered irritably as he continued with his scans.

"Rosalie."

"I thought Potter caused more trouble than the brat."

Emmeline frowned at him. "It's not Rosalie that's done something. It's Minerva, in regards to Rosalie."

He paused what he was doing. "You discovered Miss Vance was living alone, did you not?"

"YOU KNEW?"

He regarded her calmly. "Of course. The child was in here often enough- crossing paths with her was inevitable."

"And you didn't think to say anything?"

"Why would I?" he sneered. "The girl is not my problem. Now, would you please sit still so I can finish?"

Emmeline scowled, but did as he asked.

"How do you feel?" he questioned, head bent over his notes.

Emmeline hesitated.

He frowned. "What?"

"I feel worse." she confessed. "I'm exhausted, Severus."

"Some tiredness is to be expected-"

"No!" she interrupted. "It's not just tiredness- every part of me aches and feels as if it weighs the earth. I wake up as tired as I was when I went to sleep. And if i'm not woken up by something, I don't wake up at all."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"On Tuesday, I went to bed at eight-thirty and woke up at eleven Thursday morning." she answered flatly.

"You were asleep for over thirty-six hours?" His eyes widened.

"Sirius took the children out for day and Missy had the day off. There was no noise to wake me until Harry dropped his trainers on Thursday morning. And even then, I woke up wanting to go straight back to sleep. This isn't normal Severus, something's wrong."

"It could be some form of lingering effect from your illness, or perhaps caused by the treatment..." he peered into her eyes before gently pinching the skin on the back of her hand. "There doesn't seem to be an outward cause for it… i'll run some tests. In the meantime, come here and have them contact me if anything else occurs."

"Thank you Severus."

She smiled tiredly at him, packing her things and leaving as he quickly glanced over his notes. As a solution occurred to him, he surged to his feet and strode from the hospital, apparating across Paris in a second and crossing his arms as he waited for a certain to blonde to appear.

" _Professeur Snape._ " Rosalie started, surprised when she saw the man waiting outside her ballet class. "What are you doing here?"

"Do you feel well?" he demanded without preamble. She blinked.

"Quite well." she confirmed.

"Well enough to increase the flow?"

Rosalie looked alarmed. "Is _Maman_ okay?"

"I'm not sure."

She pressed her lips together. "I feel fine. Do what you need to."

* * *

The summer holidays passed quickly and it seemed as if not time at all had passed before Missy was waking Sirius and the children up to travel to London for Sirius's trial. Emmeline was so exhausted she remained behind, Rosalie's mirror beside her bed so that as soon as they had news they could tell her.

Harry grasped Rose's hand tightly as they travelled to the lower depths of the ministry, Sirius hidden under the invisibility cloak with his hand wrapped loosely in Rose's top so they knew they hadn't lost him.

In the courtroom, Amelia Bones was sat opposite them, nodding subtly to them when she caught sight of them. They sat so that Sirius could leave his seat easily and waited in tense silence for the final members of the Wizengamot to take their seats.

Rose's foot tapped impatiently as it took almost half an hour for the various members to sit and then listen to the formalities of the court.

"Good God, we'll be here at midnight at this rate." Harry muttered. They shared a suffering glance, but finally, eventually, Amelia Bones was called to explain who and what the trial was for. She rose gracefully and descended to the centre of the room, immediately commanding the attention of the everyone in it.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Wizengamot, I have called this trial in a despicably belated attempt at rectifying one of the greatest travesties of our justice system I have ever seen…"

Rose felt as if she were hardly breathing as she watched the events around her, her heart thumping so loudly she could hear it in her ears, drowning out the sound of Amelia and her speech. Harry gripped her hand so tightly their knuckles were white, neither letting up despite the pain emanating from them.

"Sirius Black was never given a trial! Neither was Rubeus Hagrid three years ago, and nor was Albus Dumbledore earlier this year! How many people have the ministry seen fit to throw into Azkaban without conviction, Minister?"

Amelia was gesturing angrily as she argued with Fudge over the necessity of a trial, the man desperately trying to shut proceedings down. Amelia refused to allow him the power, and with magic crackling in the air she faced him down.

"I demand a fair trial for Sirius Black, and for every single person suspected of a crime, no matter how _compelling_ the evidence!"

Fudge smirked. "Well, that would be possible if he were here, Amelia, but he-"

That was the opening Sirius had been waiting for and all at once he threw the cloak off of him into Rosalie's lap and surged to his feet, stepping into the aisle next to him and with a voice impossibly calm and steady, greeted the Wizengamot. "Good afternoon, my lords and ladies."

Fudge squeaked in alarm. _"Aurors!"_ He shouted. Rose stopped breathing altogether as the robed figures descended on Sirius, forcing him to the main floor and into the chair for the accused.

"I request the use of Veritaserum!" he yelled hastily. Everyone froze, as Amelia gave a small, almost unseen grin.

"Oh Merlin, I hope this works." muttered Harry as the vial was brought in and questioning began.

" _Are you a deatheater?"_

" _No._

" _Are you, or have you ever been a sympathiser of he-who-must-not-be-named?"_

" _No."_

" _Did you betray the Potters, causing their deaths, to he-who-must-not-be-named?"_

" _No."_

During the questioning, Minerva snuck in, padding to Rose and Harry in her animagus form and changing back once she was seated.

"How does it look?" she whispered.

"Hard to tell." Rose murmured. "A lot of them are curious and are questioning his guilt but they don't seem convinced yet."

The uncertainty continued and by the time for the members to vote came, Rose and Harry were wrecks.

"All in favour of the exoneration of Sirius Black?"

Harry and Rose both counted wands as fast as they could.

"I think… I think it's more than half." Rose whispered, fingers digging into Harry's palm.

"I agree."

He bit his lip, barely daring to breath as they awaited the final count.

They were right. Fudge unhappily relayed the result, which caused Sirius to leap to his feet with a loud whoop, going so far as to pull Amelia into a tight hug.

"My Lords and Ladies!" Augusta Longbottom interrupted. "Forgive me, but Lord Black has spent twelve years effectively being illegally held prisoner by the ministry. Is compensation not due?"

Harry and Rose ceased listening, bouncing excitedly as Harry yanked out the mirror to tell Emmeline and Rose exchanged bright smiles with Minerva. Over Harry's whispered conversation, she heard only snippets of what was still occurring in the court room.

" _I wish to suggest a review of all prisoners supposedly remanded to prison, including those who may not be currently seconded there…"_

" _What is to stop the ministry from putting anyone they don't like or disagree with into prison? Tell me, if you had managed it, would a fifteen year old Harry Potter be sitting in there for contradicting you?"_

" _None of us, none of our children are safe!"_

Eventually, a decision was reached and the court dismissed. Rose and Harry raced down the steps to Sirius, Harry drawing ahead just slightly and flying into his arms.

"You're free!"

Sirius laughed, spinning him in the air before he reached out and drew Rose into a hug, not letting go of Harry with his other arm. "I am! I'm free!"

* * *

Minerva sat on the edge of Emmeline's bed, smiling as she relayed the details. "It was unanimous, Emmeline- Augusta Longbottom is heading the review and they'll be checking the convictions of every prisoner in Azkaban, no matter who they are or what they have supposedly done."

Emmeline smiled. "Good. I'll feel better about Harry returning to Hogwarts if I know he won't be thrown in Azkaban for no reason."

"SIRIUS!" They heard Rosalie screech suddenly, and Emmeline sighed.

"And they were along so well."

 _That morning_

" _Lord Black, you wish to recognise Lady Rosalie Vance as your child and legal heir?" The goblin stared at him._

" _That is correct."_

" _You were not married to her mother…"_

" _That is irrelevant."_

" _The ministry…"_

 _Sirius frowned. "The ministry has no grounds to object; it was their illegal incarceration of me that prevented my marriage to Lady Emmeline."_

" _Very well." The goblin inclined his head. "Is your daughter aware of your actions today?"_

" _I imagine she will be when she receives your letter of acknowledgement."_

" _You understand, this is highly irregular- to declare this without an inheritance test-"_

 _Sirius rolled his eyes. "She is my daughter. That is all that matters. If anyone wishes to object, direct them to me."_

" _Very well. From hereon, the Lady Rosalie shall be known as Lady Rosalie Marlene Vance-Black, and is recognised magically, legally and in practicality as the heir to The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black alongside her birthright of The Noble House of Vance."_

" _So I, Lord Sirius Orion Black, say, so mote it be."_

Present Time

"You named me your heir? _Mon dieu_ , what were you thinking?" Rosalie gaped.

"That you're my daughter. And that I really didn't want the Malfoys to inherit it."

She frowned. "Are you thinking of going somewhere?"

"No, not at all. But it never hurts to be prepared." he smiled at her, but she didn't return it.

"Why not Harry? I'm already the last of the Vance's unless you and _Maman_ get busy…"

"Angel, you know your mother and I don't have that relationship anymore-"

"Yet." she muttered. He ignored her.

"And the Black inheritance is tricky; the magic won't recognise anyone not of Black blood as it's heir. So it would automatically defer to-"

"The Malfoys." she finished with a sigh.

"Exactly." He smiled fondly at her. "And besides- you're my daughter. I would shout it from the rooftops if that wouldn't get me an extended stay in Saint Mungo's."

She tilted her head quizzically. "… Thank you?"

"You're welcome."

Rose sighed. "When do you leave for Africa?" she questioned. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Tomorrow. Mary Macdonald is coming with me- she was in the year above me in Gryffindor. Lily and her were fairly good friends."

"And Remus?"

"Tonks took a leave of absence from the aurors and is going with him to Eastern Europe. Don't look so worried, angel- we'll be back before you know it."

"That's not what I'm worried about. You will be careful?"

"Of course."

* * *

"Rosie? Have you heard from Sirius? It's been weeks." Harry asked absently as they studied in the attic room one morning in late August.

"No, but Remus sent a message saying they weren't having much luck where they were so are going to keep travelling."

"Remus?"

"Lupin. He was your professor for about a year, or have you forgotten?" she shot him an amused look.

"No… I just didn't realise you were so friendly with him."

"He's Sirius's best friend- I see him practically every week. I swear, you forget the rest of the world carries on when you're at school."

Harry looked indignant. "I do not! It's just… after what he did…"

"Brother-dear, what's the point of holding grudges for something that happened years ago? It's not going to help fight Voldemort, is it? And besides, he apologised and has turned his back on Dumbledore and the Order."

"I suppose…"

"Do stop pouting. Remus had his reasons, and however misguided he regrets what he did now."

"Oh, very well. But don't expect me to welcome him with open arms." he frowned.

"Harry, I don't think you've ever welcomed anyone with open arms. Now finish your potions work so we can go and meet Gideon."

Missy popped into room, causing Harry to curse as he jumped and spilt ink on his essay. "Master Harry, Miss Rose! Owlsies be delivering these for yous!"

"OWL results! Thank you Missy!" Rose grinned.

"How did you do Rose?"

"Eleven OWLS, all grade O! _Et tu_?"

"The same. _Maman_ can't complain about that, can she?"

"I should hope not! Congratulations, brother-dear." They grinned at each other, scrambling up to go and tell Emmeline the good news.

Instead of Emmeline, however, they found someone else in the hall. "Sirius, you're home!" Harry beamed, rushing to greet him.

"Hi pup! Hello angel! How are you both?"

"We're fine. Did you find anything?" Harry asked eagerly.

"A little. We know how to destroy the physical vessels, which in turn destroys the Hocrux."

Rose bounced on her toes. "We think we know where some of them are hidden."

"Really?"

"Well, we know he made his diary one, yes? So we assumed that he used important things for the others."

Emmeline appeared from the kitchen, frowning disapprovingly. "The children went alone into the Gaunt's house in England."

"Hello Emmy. Wait… what on earth were you two thinking?"

"That this is important." Rose said impatiently. "We found a Horcrux! It was a ring, it had compulsion charms on it."

"Thankfully, Rose was far enough away that she wasn't affected too badly to realise that I was, and dragged me out." Harry explained quickly.

"We contacted the goblins; they're willing to help for a price. I believe they contracted several curse breakers to help- they're leaving tonight, if you want to join in. Bill Weasley is among them." Rose looked smug.

"You know me so well." Sirius grinned. "I think I will."

* * *

"Emmeline! Sirius! Children!"

Emmeline jumped violently at the sudden yell and rushed out of the kitchen. "Minerva? What's wrong?"

"Death eaters attacked Amelia Bones this morning. Where are the children?" the older woman asked urgently.

"Rosalie's at piano and Harry's at football. Calm down Minerva." Emmeline caught her hands in her own. "Is Amelia okay?"

"She's alive, just. She and Susan are both in Saint Mungo's. I was wondering-"

"Bring them here." she said instantly.

"Are you sure, Emmeline?"

"Yes. We'll have Missy add them to the wards- Amelia can take the spare room and Susan can share with Rose. Were those the only attacks?"

Minerva winced. "That's the other problem. Your other house in London was burnt down using fiendfyre last night. Hestia Jones is dead as well."

There was a moment of stunned silence. _"Merde_. It's starting, isn't it?"

They exchanged a long look. "It looks like it. Sirius, could you visit Amelia Bones and suggest that she and Susan come here? I'm sure to visit a potential muggleborn..."

"Of course. Did you receive my letter?"

"About the ring? Yes- the goblins seemed quite angry with the injury of their cursebreaker."

Sirius winced. "We're lucky it wasn't the death of him. The charms on that thing were stronger than I'd seen in a long time."

"We think we know where another is." Emmeline added.

"You better not have gone alone, Emmeline…"

"We didn't! But Riddle grew up in an orphanage- we found some old records that detailed some sort of incident at a beach which he seemed to be at the centre of. There was no proof, but the staff were suspicious. We think he might have hidden one there."

Sirius nodded. "I'll visit Gringotts after Amelia." he promised.

It was a few days before Amelia was recovered enough to leave hospital, but once she had she and Susan were collected by Sirius, who took them straight to _La Place des Anges_ where Emmeline was waiting for them.

"Thank you so much for letting us stay here, Emmeline." Amelia gripped her hand, her weight on mostly her right leg.

"You're more than welcome Madam Bones. Susan, you're sharing with Rose, is that alright? She's at piano lessons at the moment." Emmeline smiled warmly at the young redhead.

"Of course. Thank you."

Harry led Amelia to the living room to sit down, glancing at his mother and Godfather. "We would like to run something past you, Madam Bones, if that's okay."

"Of course, Mr Potter."

"We know that Voldemort is going to target the muggleborns. We have a plan to protect them and their families."

She frowned. "How? The ministry doesn't have the resources…"

"No, but we have the money and power of three families between us. Four, if you count Aunt Min." he amended.

"I see…"

"We want to bring them here, instead of Hogwarts."

She raised an eyebrow. "Here? Forgive me, but as lovely as your home is I don't believe it's quite big enough for that many people."

"Ha ha. I meant to France. The dance school Rose and I attend moved to a bigger location when we younger- the old building was bought by contractors but never remodelled. We acquired it last week. We intend on housing muggleborns and their families there, and later halfbloods as well if they're in danger. We can hire teachers for them, set them up in flats for each family. We spoke to builders- they can begin the work as soon as we give the word. There would be some expansion needed, some internal building work but other than that the building is perfect. We already have permission from the French ministry."

Amelia looked stunned. "It's ambitious, Mr Potter…"

"But possible?" He looked hopeful, and she couldn't help but smile a little.

"Yes, it's possible. Being in France circumvents the need for ministry approval. Do you really think you can pull it off?"

He beamed and nodded. "Absolutely. Would you excuse me for one moment? I need to floo my uncle- he is the point of contact for the builders. We'll have the school up and running by September. It might affect the student numbers at Hogwarts, but it could save their lives."

"This is truly exceptional Mr Potter." Amelia shook her head in shock.

"Thank you, but it was my sister's idea. She's the brainy one- I'm the Gryffindor one." he grinned, and dashed from the room.

* * *

"Rose! Sirius! _Maman_!"

Rose glanced up from where she sat in the kitchen. "Really Harry, unless Voldemort is breaking down the door there's no need to shriek at the top of your lungs."

"Sorry Rosie. But look! I'm Quidditch captain!" He showed her the silver badge, grinning proudly.

"Congratulations pup. And prefect as well!" Sirius nudged him good-naturedly and he bounced excitedly.

"I know!" then he frowned. "Why do you have blood on your face?"

"Merlin's balls! Why didn't you tell me Rose?" Sirius shot to his feet and crossed to the sink.

"I hadn't looked at you!" she protested. "The question stands though- why do you have blood on your face?"

"I had to duel a goblin."

They both gaped at him. "WHAT?" they exclaimed simultaneously.

"Jinx! … Not happy with that, huh?"

"Sirius…" Harry said in a warning tone, and the man sighed.

"Oh fine. We found one of the hocruxes was in Bellatrix's vault- the goblins freely admitted it but wouldn't allow us entry unless we proved it was for honourable reasons."

"And that involved duelling?" Rose questioned in exasperation.

"Hey, I don't understand goblin customs! I just did what they said and they let us take the cup. Now we just have to find a way to destroy them."

Rose frowned. "Well, Harry used basilisk venom on the last one didn't he? Why can't you use that?"

"There aren't many basilisks around anymore angel."

"Well there's one in the chamber of secrets." Harry pointed out.

Sirius blinked. "… you have a point pup. Would you be willing to fetch a few fangs?"

"Sure. I'll have Aunt Minerva take me with her tomorrow."

* * *

Minerva stared at the sight in front of her. "Merlin's beard Harry..." she breathed. "You killed that?"

"…. Yes?" he hesitated. There was a pause.

"I need a drink."

* * *

Minerva made her way though the eerily empty corridors to the head's office, trying to calm her heartbeat down. "Albus? I have the list of first year students for you." she handed it to him, hoping he couldn't see the tension in her.

"Ah, thank you Minerva… Why is it so small?" he did a double take at it.

"Oh, I think it was just a small year group." she said evasively as she moved back towards the door. "There were more muggleborns and halfbloods choosing not to attend than usual as well."

"I see. Perhaps you could revisit them, try to persuade them-?"

"No Albus." she cut him off. "We have quite enough to do without chasing after families who have already expressed their wish to have their children attend elsewhere. I will see you at dinner."

She strode out, exhaling a sigh of relief that he didn't question her any further, and so didn't hear the soft exclamation that came from behind her.

"… Merlin's balls."

* * *

The ragtag troupe that had occupied _La Place des Anges_ were sat around a table in the newly decorated canteen of the sanctuary. Amelia looked tired as she relayed news from Britain. "There's nothing overt. Florean Fortescue and Ollivander have both gone missing but there's no evidence if the latter was foul play or not."

"Mr Fortsescue was though?" Emmeline checked.

"Yes. But we don't know who. What's wrong Sirius?"

"I was just thinking- this is how it began last time. Disappearances, abductions. It's beginning all over again."

Minerva patted his hand. "But this time we're ready for it."

"We hope."

"Hello? Sirius? Rosalie?" a voice echoed from the hall, and Rosalie stood to meet him.

"Remus! You're back!" she smiled.

"Hello Rosalie. You remember Nymphadora Tonks?"

"Don't call me Nymphadora! Hello Rosalie."

" _Bonjour_. Missy! Would you let Tonks fully into the wards please?"

Remus was gaping at his surroundings. "This place is amazing Rose. Sirius said it's a school?"

"It is. And we'd like you to teach here..." she said slyly. He choked.

"What?!"

"Remus, Harry freely admits that you're the best DADA teacher he's ever had. We want you to teach here." She looked at him hopefully.

"Rose… I'm a werewolf! The parents…"

"Are mostly muggles. We're concentrating on muggleborns at the moment, with a few of the half bloods we're sure are targets. They won't know any different. You complain so much about the discrimination and _préjudice_ against you- then fight to change it! Start here, now." she exclaimed.

"I…"

But Tonks was nodding her agreement. "You should do it Remus!"

"Dora, I don't know…"

"Oh, stop it! So you turn furry once a month- big deal! Rose, have you decided on a name yet?"

"We're provisionally calling it the Cedric Diggory academy- the academy for short. We intended it to be temporary, but Madam Bones pointed out that we do not know how long the war is going to be, so it's changed to a more permanent thing that will be abolished when the war is over."

"How is it set up?" she asked curiously.

"We have a large hall on the left there- it's connected to a cuisine, so we're using it as the canteen. Then there's a small office on the right, and beyond it is a small room we are using as a staff room. In the right far corner is a hall with enlargement charms on it- we're going to use it to teach flying indoors so the muggles can't see us. It's not quite big enough for a game of Quidditch but it is not far off. There is also a conservatory at the back which used to be for parents to wait in, but Neville is helping us change it into a greenhouse. The top floors have been remodelled into several small apartments for families and also dormitories for children whose parents are not staying here. There is a small hospital wing up there also. A healer friend of _mon oncle_ has agreed to work there. And the first floor studios have been remodelled into several different classrooms, including one for duelling."

"That sounds amazing. Doesn't it Remus?"

"It… it does." he admitted. "I'd be teaching defence?"

" _Oui_. And duelling- not for competitions, but for fighting. For actual defence, against attacks. And also about magical creatures, since it is not like we have space to keep hippogriffs and bowtruckles."

"That sounds… acceptable."

She grinned _. "Bon_. Because Sirius already told Harry that you agreed, and it was part of the reason he began to warm up to you."

"Harry has warmed up to me?" Remus raised an eyebrow. "He hates me."

"He 'ates Voldemort more. Luckily."

She smirked at him and led them to where the others were sitting, Missy popping in with extra plates of dinner. While the adults were engaged in conversation, Rose leaned into her brother.

"Harry? Did I see you kiss Susan earlier?"

"No!"

She raised an eyebrow, a knowing smile on her face.

"… Yes." He admitted, but looked panicked. "Don't tell, especially not Madam Bones, Rosie please!"

"I won't, as long as you promise you're not messing her around."

"I'm not! How can you think that?" he scowled indignantly. "And don't cross your arms like that- you look just like mum."

She hastily uncrossed them and carried on. "Because you're a sixteen year old boy and Susan is sweet. And I thought you fancied Cho?"

"I'm don't… I… I like Susan. A lot. She's nice, and pretty, and doesn't seem to care that I'm the boy-who-lived."

He smiled tentatively at her, and she relaxed. "Then I won't tell." she promised.

Just then, Missy popped in with a letter for Harry. He paled as he read it, then flushed red. "AUNT MINERVA!"

"Goodness Harry, what is it?" she jolted, looking at him in alarm.

"This!"

Emmeline was frowning. "Well, what is it?"

"A letter from Dumbledore, offering me private lessons to help me defeat Voldemort! So help me, if he comes near me I will hex him!"

"Harry, calm down." Minerva soothed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Honestly, just write him a reply and tell him no thank you. There's no need to get so worked up."

"Bloody old men who think they can interfere in other people's lives…" he muttered angrily, stuffing the letter into his pocket to reply to later.

"Mind your language." she reproached. But when Harry had turned back to Rose, she exchanged a worried look with Emmeline and Sirius. Dumbledore was making plans, and they were in the dark.


	36. Chapter 36

_**A massive thank you to everyone who's reviewed, especially those who have done pretty much every chapter! You're wonderful XX**_

Minerva had forgotten the exhaustion of a new school year. Ensuring the new muggleborns and half-bloods knew how to get to the platform, sorting them, the excitement of the students, the homesick students, lesson plans and new teachers, old teachers, house elves and the castle itself not to mention a dozen other things that fell to her to complete. Not to mention actually getting Harry and Susan to the platform, which was an experience in itself.

Emmeline had been waiting impatiently by the stairs, Harry's trunk by her side. "Harry! You're going to be late, hurry up!"

"I'm right here _Maman_. Bye Sirius, bye Rose! We'll see you at Christmas!"

"You have your mirror?" Rose checked.

"Of course."

"Then au _revoir."_ she hugged him tightly, before turning to do the same to Susan.

"Bye pup. Bye Susan!"

"Goodbye Sirius, Rose."

Amelia was frowning at them. "Come along Susie, Harry- we'll be late."

"Coming Madam Bones. Bye! Stay safe!" Harry waved as they rushed out of the door, leaving a strange silence behind.

* * *

Rose flopped into a seat in the canteen of the academy, exhausted and watching tiredly as two toddlers raced around the tables while shrieking loudly.

"Tired angel?"

Sirius grinned as he sat down next to her.

"There are so many muggleborns and halfbloods- thank Merlin we have the Abbotts helping or we wouldn't be able to reach half as many as we have."

He patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Look on the bright side- you don't have exams this year."

She frowned. "Maybe not for magic, but I do for muggle school! And the looks the teachers are giving me because I did so badly on the end of year exams last year…"

"Did you give them a reason why?"

"I told them my aunt was very ill, which wasn't a lie. Technically."

"Rose, you're not superwoman. Take a break once in a while."

"Why do you think I have piano lessons?"

"I… have no response to that. Have you heard from Harry?" he changed the subject.

She shook her head. "Not recently. He's busy- very busy, although I think he's finding the others attempts at silent casting amusing."

"You and he can do that already, can't you?"

" _Oui. Maman_ thought it was important we learn. But his classmates have not started yet, so they are struggling. And speaking of Harry…"

She trailed off, looking towards the doorway in confusion. Because Harry had just walked in in, grinning tiredly when he saw them.

"Harry!" exclaimed Sirius in surprise, rising to embrace him. "What are you doing here?"

"I've decided to self-study my NEWTS." He explained. Sirius and Rose exchanged a glance.

"Why?" she questioned.

"Different reasons." He slid into a seat as he shrugged. "Mostly I'm tired of being the bloody boy-who-lived. Last year I was a pariah to half the school, now they're all expecting me to just stand up and defeat Voldemort! Everyone just assumes I'm going to fight him!"

"You… _are_ going to fight him, one way or another." Rose pointed out.

"Well, yes. But they don't have to all assume it, do they? And when I suggested that one of them do something about it, they called me a coward." He growled. "So I give up. Hannah and Ernie won't acknowledge me in public in case anyone turns on them, Hermione isn't talking to me because of that bloody book and Ron is so busy snogging Lavender he doesn't even realise I exist!"

"What book?" she questioned.

"Well, when we arrived at school, all our things were searched."

"I remember, you told us."

"After, some of my things disappeared. Some of my books, some old essays and a few other bits and pieces that I had in my trunk."

"Okay…?"

"Well, one of the books that went missing was my potions book- Slughorn let me borrow this old scabby one from the cupboard. It belonged to someone who called himself 'the half-blood prince' and he's written all over it. Improvements to potions, ideas for antidotes, spells he created himself. He's a genius!"

"… And you know this how?" Rosalie narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well…"

"Merlin, Morgan and Mordred! Harry James, tell me you didn't try these things without having an expert check them!" Sirius bolted upright, gaping at him. Harry wriggled.

"Well…"

" _Mon dieu!_ " groaned Rose, resting her head in her hands. She was muttering in rapid French, and from the bits and pieces Sirius managed to catch he thought she was moaning about ten years and her brother still having a distinct lack of common sense.

"And apart from all of that, I'm getting really tired of having to check everything I eat and drink for love potions." He scowled. Rose snorted at this.

"Really? Girls are slipping _you_ love potions?"

"Hey!" Harry looked indignant.

"There are a few boys too." Minerva teased as she appeared. Harry groaned, smacking his head on the table. "A couple of people are asking after you. I was evasive, but before long people are going to realise. What do you want me to say?"

"Whatever you think is best." His voice was muffled.

"Very well. Sirius, what was it you needed to see me about?" she looked at the man inquiringly.

"Oh! This." He reached into his pocket, withdrawing a gold locket on a chain.

"Is that a hocrux? Why didn't you tell us?" Rose looked hurt.

"It isn't. it's a fake." He explained, looking sad. "I don't know how Reg did it exactly, but he found it and hopefully destroyed it."

"Reg?"

"My brother, Regulus."

Harry was frowning. "We can't take the chance. We have to find out if he managed it or not."

"Wasn't Regulus rather close with your elf?" mused Minerva. "The thing was wailing during a meeting last summer. He might know something…"

"Good point. Kreacher!"

* * *

Several months passed, with Rosalie and Harry attending the academy during the day and training hard at night. Despite their busy schedules, they all noticed one thing- Emmeline was getting worse.

She'd been tired and pale since she'd woken, but rather than regaining her strength she seemed to be losing more of it. She insisted she was fine- her family wasn't so sure and Professor Snape was working overtime to try to heal her completely.

Meanwhile, Harry had realised that Voldemort's snake was probably a horcrux, and progress in destroying the things had stalled while they tried to work out a way to kill it when it rarely left its master's side. By now, it was also public that Harry Potter had left Hogwarts. The Prophet condemned him, calling him a coward and declaring him a traitor but Harry gave Luna's father an exclusive interview for the Quibbler. In it, he himself condemned the people who had slandered him the year before but now expected him to die to save them. Dumbledore was furious, and had resorted to outright threats in an attempt to have Harry return to Britain.

They hadn't worked.

"Why can't we just kill the snake at the same time as Voldemort?" Susan asked in frustration during yet another brain storm session at Easter.

"We can't guarantee that it will be there. And it's much easier for Voldemort to hide as a snake- we have to destroy the horcrux before the body or risk him escaping." Rosalie explained, rubbing her temple.

"Okay, short of all other ideas-" Sirius spoke up. "Why don't we return to the original plan catch it when it's hunting?"

"Because it never strays far from the manor. Never outside the wards." Pointed out Tonks.

"Could we break the wards?"

Minerva shook her head. "Not without alerting the death eaters. And quite frankly, the losses would overwhelm anything we could gain."

"Sorry to interrupt, but Neville and Augusta Longbottom are outside wandering around the outskirts of the wards." Remus poked his head around the door. They all exchanged confused glances.

"Did he mention he was coming, Auntie?" Harry questioned.

"No…"

Wands drawn, they and Rosalie slipped out of the wards and approached the pair. "What did we give you for your last birthday?" Harry challenged.

Neville's face lit up. "A Dendrophylax lindenii."

Rose and Harry exchanged an amused look. "It's him." They chimed together. Minerva had checked Augusta, and they quickly let the two into the fidelius secret and rest of the wards.

"What happened?" Harry questioned.

Augusta sniffed. "Damn death eaters. They attacked our home- we came here, at Neville's request."

"And that was the right thing." Minerva flashed him a rare smile. "But Frank and Alice…"

"I'm already on my way." Sirius was indeed tugging on his boot.

"And I'm coming." Amelia added resolutely. They dashed out.

"What did you buy Neville for his birthday?" asked Minerva curiously. "The… denax thing."

"Dendrophylax lindenii." Neville smiled. "A ghost orchid. They're very rare, and expensive."

At this, he shot a frown at the siblings who smiled innocently.

* * *

Rosalie grinned up at her mother from where she lay on the floor, the older woman laughing uncontrollably, eyes dancing with mirth. Rose rolled over onto her back, hitting Harry and resting her head on him, feeling him shake beneath her as he laughed. There was a strange sound in the background, like shouting, but she ignored it, curling up as sun streamed in through the round window of the attic and warmed her. She looked up to her mother, but frowned.

" _Maman?_ " she questioned, raising herself up on her elbows. The noise was getting louder as she looked around, confused. "Harry, did you see where _maman_ wen-?" she cut herself off when she looked back to discover her brother was gone. "Harry?"

The noise was louder, piercing and shrill. Rosalie shot upright, gasping as the attic was gone in a moment and replaced by her room at the academy. "Harry!" the noise was her brother screaming, high and pained and she scrambled out of bed and out of her room, across the hall to his room. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sirius stumbling in the same direction.

"Harry, wake up! _C'est juste un rêve! 'Arry!_ "

Harry's eyes were wide open, unseeing as he screamed, clutching his forehead.

Sirius touched her shoulder. "Rose, floo Gringotts. Tell them we have to bring the extraction forwards."

"What?!"

"We think we know a way to do it! Floo them now!"

Rose raced through the halls of the school, bare feet slapping against the polished wood floors as she rushed to the floo in the office. "Gringotts Paris! Is anyone there?"

A goblin came into view, looking at her emotionlessly. "The bank is currently closed."

" _Je sais,_ you have my apologies. I'm Rosalie Vance-Black, my father said to tell you that it's necessary to move the extraction forwards."

His eyes narrowed. "Understood. You will need to contact your Aunt and Uncle."

"Jean-Claude and Appolline?"

" _Non._ Jean-Claude and Minerva McGonagall."

Rose reeled back slightly. "What-?"

"Now!" the goblin ordered, and cut the connection. Bewildered, Rose did as he said and flooed her uncle, who had an almost identical reaction, telling her to contact Gringotts and her aunt.

"Minerva McGonagall's quarters, Hogwarts School, A Leannan." Rose hesitated before she threw the powder into the fire place, knowing that Dumbledore was monitoring the floo system. But there wasn't time to contact her another way, and so she released the handful of powder and called for her aunt, who eventually stumbled sleepily into view.

"What is it, what's wrong?" she demanded. Rosalie relayed the message, growing more irritated when her reaction was much the same.

" _Tata,_ what is going on? What's wrong with Harry, _et_ what extraction?"

"I'll explain later- go back to your father!"

Her aunt vanished from view and Rose ground her teeth, rising from the floor with a wince and rushing back to where she could hear Harry still shrieking. But she hadn't even entered the room when Sirius appeared at the doorway, Harry cradled in his arms.

"With me!" he ordered, striding through the corridors with Rosalie running to catch up. Remus appeared from behind him, clothes in disarray.

"What about _Maman?_ "

"She took dreamless sleep- Minerva will contact her later."

"What's going on?" she asked again but Sirius ignored her, merely gesturing with his chin for her to keep up as he rushed into the garden, into a small courtyard enclosed in layers of wards that trapped anyone entered without being entered into the wards. But it was the only place in the school that didn't have anti-portkey wards on it, and Rosalie barely had time to grab a hold of the length of ribbon before Sirius activated it, the four of them whirring through the air and hitting the floor hard in a whirl of colours and sounds.

"Remus?" Rosalie questioned, frightened now.

He reached out and squeezed her hand.

"It's okay. I promise."

But then he rushed off. Confusion swept through Rosalie as she glanced around- it seemed to be a living room of some sort, albeit it didn't seem lived in; there were no mementos or random books left lying around, simply two sofas, an empty hearth, a coffee table and a generic photo of a landscape on the wall. By the time she had glanced up once again, she was alone.

"Sirius? Remus?" she called softly, peeking out the door. The was an empty hallway beyond that could have been in any house across the world. Fear snaked through her; cautiously she pinched herself, hoping to wake herself up.

No luck.

A thump behind her had her whirring around, only to see her aunt land hard on the floor, Hermione beside her.

" _Tata, qu'est-ce qui se passe?_ " Rose pleaded.

"Hermione, explain!" Minerva called over her shoulder as she rushed out of the room.

Rosalie's eyes narrowed, her jaw clenching. " _Hermione, vous expliquer_! _Maintenant!_ "

"Rosalie, it's complicated…" Hermione began uncertainly.

Her eyes flashed, magic crackling in the air around her. " _Je m'en fou!_ What iz 'appening? _"_

"Sit down." Hermione tugged her into a seat. "I had an idea, a few months ago. Harry told me the prophecy, and explained about the horcruxes. And something he said got me thinking- that he was a horcrux because of his scar."

" _Alors?_ So?"

"What if that's more literal than we thought? What if the scar is the Horcrux?"

"I do not understand…"

"How do you destroy a horcrux?" Hermione changed tact. Rose ground her teeth, but played along.

"Destroy the vessel."

"So if the scar is the vessel, but Harry himself isn't…" she trailed off pointedly and Rose's eyes widened.

"Destroy the scar but not Harry, the horcrux will still be gone." She realised, hope sparking within her. "But… how could the scar be destroyed alone?"

Hermione grimaced. "That was the problem- Sirius contacted the goblins who put us in contact with Dr Blanc. She's a doctor in the muggle world and a healer in the magical one. She's been researching on whether or not simply cutting the scar out would work."

"And that is where we are now?"

"Yes." She confirmed. Rose swallowed.

"But… the horcrux… with the locket it tried to protect itself. What if it chooses to do that with Harry?"

Hermione ducked her head. "Which is why we haven't brought this up before." She admitted. Rose crossed her arms over herself, looking around the plain room. It wasn't cold, but the night air brought a chill to the house that made her shiver, dressed as she was in shorts and a loose top. Hermione had on thicker pyjamas, and huddled closer to her.

"This could backfire horribly." Rose said softly.

Hermione grasped her hand. "Sirius wouldn't have brought it forward if he didn't have really good reason."

"I know that!" Rose snapped, pulling her hand away. "The point remains! How long have you known about this?" Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "HOW LONG?"

"Since before Harry left Hogwarts." She admitted quietly.

"That was months ago!" Rosalie shot straight, anger flashing through her. "'Ow could you not tell us?! Tell 'im?!"

"Rosalie…"

" _Va te faire foutre!_ " she was on her feet, pacing, hands running through her long hair. " _Mon dieu_ , 'Arry 'as 'ad nightmares every night- 'e wakes up screaming! 'E no longer believes that 'e will live to adulthood! 'Do you 'ave any idea what even a little _espoir_ would 'ave meant to 'im? _Fils de putain_ , and you call yourself 'is friend?"

She sank into the other sofa, her head in her hands.

"I'm sorry." Hermione whispered. "But I promised…"

"Promised who?!" she demanded. " _Dumbledore?_ Pah, _quel salaud._ "

"Dumbledore is a great man!"

" _Dumbledore_ is a senile old fool!" Rose snapped. "'E makes assumptions that are wrong, keeps secrets to 'imself which cause 'arm to ozzers and _generalment_ makes a nuisance of 'imself! Voldemort would never 'ave 'ad ze chance to return if 'e 'ad confided in anozzer person; because 'e did not, 'e 'as returned and a dozen _personnes_ are dead _!_ "

Hermione stuttered, but Rose had risen to her feet and was pacing, muttering in rapid French. This carried on for several hours, with Hermione eventually falling into an uneasy sleep while Rosalie continued to pace, until she was awoken suddenly when a hand shook her.

"What's wrong?" she shot upright. Rose looked at her coolly.

"I am going home- tell someone if they ask, _oui?_ "

And with that she grabbed a handful of floo powder and vanished, muttering her destination under her breath and leaving Hermione blinking, peering outside to guess what time it was. Judging by the faint sunlight, she guessed it wasn't long after dawn. With a sigh, she wrapped her arms around herself and sat back on the sofa.

Meanwhile Rosalie stalked through the empty halls of the academy, limping slightly, the early hour meaning everyone was still tucked up in bed. She crossed into her room, grabbing her suitcase from where it lay open on the floor and quickly throwing the few things that had made their way out of it back in, zipping it up and shrinking it with a wave of her hand.

"Neville, wake up." She gently shook the older boy, and he blinked blearily at her. "It's okay, nothing is wrong. But I am going home- make sure no one worries or comes after me, okay?"

"You're leaving? But why?"

"Because I am not needed here. I came because Harry asked me to- but I am tired and homesick and want to get back to my life. I am not a part of this world- of your world."

He sat up, frowning at her. "You have magic Rosalie, I don't understand why you deny it."

"I do not deny it." She smiled humourlessly. "I deny the magical world. It is… antiquated and out of date. And I have no wish to inhabit it. Plus, I am French. I can count on one hand the number of times I have been to Britain- this is not my war."

"So you're running away?"

"Technically I am flooing." Rosalie shrugged, rising to her feet. "I am tired of caring for people who clearly do not feel the same way about me. I will return to my life and they will have theirs. It is best. I am sorry _._ "

He scrambled out of bed after her as she turned to leave. "Rose, don't go! Harry needs you, we need you! Your mother will be devastated!"

But she shook her head at him. " _Au revoir, mon ami._ "

And with that, she walked out.

 _ **C'est juste un rêve!- It's just a dream**_

 _ **Qu'est-ce qui se passe?- What is happening?**_

 _ **vous expliquer! Maintenant!- Explain! Now!**_

 _ **Je m'en fou- I don't care**_

 _ **Va te faire foutre- Go… 'you know what' yourself**_

 _ **espoir- Hope**_

 _ **quel salaud- what a bastard**_

 _ **generalment- generally**_


	37. Chapter 37

Rosalie stumbled through her front door at _La Place Des Anges,_ dropping her bag and leaning heavily against the radiator cover. Above it, a mirror sat on the wall and as she stared into it as she let the glamours around her drop, revealing the sunken cheeks and pale pallor.

"Miss Rose!" Missy called in distress when she popped into the room. Rose gave her a weak smile.

" _Je suis bien, Missy._ I just need to sleep."

Missy took her hand, popping her straight into her room and helping her fall straight into bed.

"Miss Rose shoulds be taking better cares of herself." The elf scolded.

"I know Missy. _Je suis desolèe._ "

"Mistress Emmeline will be being very angry with yous." The house elf bustled around the room, producing a pain potion from nowhere and helping her drink it before laying her down.

" _Je sais._ "

Rose closed her eyes, only vaguely aware of Missy drawing the curtains and magically darkening the room. As the pain potion kicked in, easing the constant burning in her body she felt herself slipping into sleep, her last aware thought being of Missy and hoping she kept her secret.

The next morning, Rose groaned as she woke up, groping for the pain potion on her bedside cabinet and downing it in one gulp, before simply lying still and waiting for it to kick in. "Missy?" she walked slowly into the kitchen, one arm wrapped around her waist.

"Miss Rose!" Missy squeaked, spinning around with a relieved look on her face.

"I'm fine." Rose anticipated her questioned. "How long has it been?"

"Five weeks."

Missy was eyeing her worriedly, hands waving in the air as if she wanted to fuss over her but not sure where to begin. Rose lowered herself into her seat, resting her head in her folded arms. "Then I can manage." She whispered, half to convince herself. "What time is it?"

Missy handed her a glass of orange juice and placed toast in front of her. "Midday."

"Alright then. Could you bring me invigoration potion from the cupboard _s'il ta plait?_ I need to get through dance, and then I can sleep more." She chewed unenthusiastically and Missy hurried to do as she asked.

"Miss Rose…" she began.

"I know Missy. Don't worry. I'm fine."

She rose and dashed to get ready. Although she collapsed as soon as she'd come home, the next day, once up and out of pain she immediately began conspiring with a bemused Missy to strengthen the wards around the house. They hid the magical signature by blending it in with the environment around it, hoping it would be enough to fool anybody looking. That afternoon, three days after she left, an owl arrived informing her that the procedure on Harry had been a success and there was no longer a horcrux attached to his head. There were also multiple pleas for her to return the academy but those she ignored, instead concentrating on her school work and practices and attempting to cope with the pain the wracked her body each day.

She soon discovered a major issue. She couldn't function without a pain potion, but the more she used them the less they worked. She would stumble home after dark, falling immediately into bed and not rising again until the last possible moment. Glamour charms were now a daily necessity.

Missy was growing more and more worried but Rosalie forbid her from expressing her concerns to anyone, doing so in such a way that the house elf was tied to silence. The girl was beyond thankful that no one had come looking for her- she didn't think that she would be able to hide her condition for an extended length of time, especially not if that person knew her well. But for now, the girl remained alone.

* * *

A month later, Rosalie knew that something had to change. Crippled by the pain, the days she found herself unable to get out of bed were now equal to the ones she could. She relied heavily on Missy to pop her backwards to the days she missed, and then to and from school and her other lessons- a mixture of muggle and magical means were keeping her awake and functioning during these, but Missy often had to pop her straight to bed, plying her with nutrient potions in an effort to prevent her weight dropping dangerously low.

Missy, meanwhile, was worried terribly about her young charge. Beneath the glamours, the young girl was pale and drawn, her eyes and cheeks sunken while her collar bones and ribs jutted out, her skin pulled like parchment as she moved with an exhausted slowness. She struggled to make it through a day, a Missy feared the time when the girl wouldn't be able to rise from bed at all. It broke her heart to see the young girl struggle so- she'd cared for her since birth, raising her when her mother had been too busy searching for her missing godson to think of her infant daughter. And in all the years since, when Emmeline had been working, or with Harry or simply involved in something else- it had been Missy who patched up scabbed knees and soothed away nightmares, who had fixed broken bones and wiped away tears.

But she was almost helpless now.

Missy gathered together the potions Rosalie would need for that day and popped upstairs into her bedroom, frowning in confusion when she saw that the girl wasn't in bed.

"Miss Rose?"

She placed the potions on the desk and snapped her fingers, lighting the room gently.

"Miss Rose!"

The girl was slumped on the floor, fallen across the rug with her legs twisted awkwardly beneath her as she breathed shallowly. "Miss Rose, Miss Rose!" Missy's hands hovered above her, unsure of what to do. Pale and covered in a sheen of sweat, Rosalie was utterly still other than the sporadic rise and fall caused by her weak breathing.

Missy gently lay her hand on her wrist, and popped them to the one person who could help. It was fortunate that he happened to be visiting the academy that day.

"Master Severus, sir, help!"

The man jumped at the appearance of the small house elf behind him. "What on-?"

Before he could finish, he caught sight of the motionless girl lying on the floor. "Rosalie!"

He dropped to his knees, wand out as he scowled furiously. "Get us to the nursing room!"

He barely noticed the pop of apparition as Missy did as he bade, leaning over Rose with a livid expression. "She was supposed to come to me if there were negative effects! Why didn't she?"

Missy, wisely, decided this was a rhetorical question and instead remained silent, simply moving to fetch whatever the potions master needed when he asked.

Snape worked on the girl, pouring potions down her throat and soundlessly muttering spells, ignoring the small group that had gathered at the entrance, horrified looks on their faces.

"I don't understand." Whispered Harry. "She was fine last time we saw her…"

"And how long ago was that?" Neville snapped. "When was the last time that any of you checked that the fourteen year old girl living alone with a house elf was actually okay? Or spoke to her about anything but Voldemort and Harry?"

Harry gaped at him, while Minerva and Sirius looked stricken. "We… we thought she just wanted to go back home. Emmeline's been ill, I thought Rose was upset about it." Sirius muttered.

"She left because she thought no one cared!" Neville scowled. "And you can't really blame her, can you?"

"Of course she knows we care!" Harry protested.

"So much so you forget that what matters to her is different to what matters to you." Commented Luna, swinging her feet from her seat on the desk nearby.

Minerva frowned. "What are you talking about Miss Lovegood?"

Luna looked up, startled. "Her performance, of course. The first time she was given the lead role. She was very excited, but you all forgot. She was so upset she had Umdulindars flocking to her for weeks."

"Oh no." Minerva's hand flew to her mouth. "The Christmas ballet; I forgot."

Sirius rubbed the bridge of his nose. "So did I."

"Just like you forgot her birthday last year. And her piano recital the year before that. And the time she had to floo my Gran to get her out of hospital because you were all 'too busy' or simply not answering your floos or any messages." Neville pointed out coolly.

"When was that?" Minerva frowned.

"Around the time Umbridge was made high inquisitor. You're all so wrapped in Harry and yourselves, you forgot that she's only fourteen! She lost her mother when she was- what? Eleven? And the only family she's got spends their time on a separate land mass barely remembering to contact her throughout the year! I used to think so highly of all of you, but you abandoned her! And then blamed her for making mistakes! What else was she going to do? She was all alone and you expected her to be able to cope with things most adults struggle with, when she's little more than a child herself!"

"Well said, Mr Longbottom."

They all gaped at Snape.

"Um… thank you Sir?" Neville stammered, astonished at gaining a compliment from the potions master.

"Miss Vance will be fine. She will likely sleep a considerable amount over the forthcoming days- do not wake her. There is a reason she is in that state." He regarded them with a harsh glare. "I suggest you use the time she is unavailable to reconsider your approach to child-rearing, Minerva."

He swept out of the room, leaving behind a group stunned into silence.

* * *

Minerva listened idly to the ticking of the clock in the corner, head resting on her hand as she watched Rosalie for any sign of the girl waking up. She'd been unconscious for three days, and had had a constant vigil over her for all that time. This was Minerva's third watch- it gave her time to think, and she realised she didn't like what she'd discovered.

Because Snape and Neville had been right, she'd reluctantly admitted. In the chaos of the past few years, Rose had been forgotten- they'd all assumed that because she could be independent, she didn't need parenting. Merlin knew Emmeline had been trying in the past few months, but playing catch-up for so many years while battling her illness was a struggle and Rose had been suffering the consequences, all without any of them realising.

And the young girl was now paying dearly for that mistake.

Minerva jumped as she felt a pressure around her shoulders, looking up to see Harry placing a blanket around her. " _Bonjour, tata._ "

"Good morning _a leannan._ " She replied softly. "Why are you awake so early? It's not even dawn."

He shrugged. "I couldn't sleep." He sat heavily in the chair by her side, gaze resting on his sister. "We failed her, didn't we?"

"I failed her. It wasn't your responsibility."

"She's my little sister!" he said harshly. "I should have been paying closer attention…"

"We all should have. We were so concerned about Voldemort and Umbridge and the Triwizard tournament we didn't think to look closer to home." She rubbed her head.

"We didn't want to look." Came a rough voice, and Sirius walked into view, deep bags under his eyes and an air of exhaustion around him. "Because if we did, we'd have to question how we could hope to beat Voldemort when we can't keep an eye on more than one child at a time."

Minerva ducked her head, but from the corner there was a sniff. "You're all being far too hard on yourselves." Hermione was sitting at the end of the room, under the watchful eye of the matron due to an accident in defence earlier that day and had woken at their voices. She'd come to the academy with her parents, who had had a very long conversation with Minerva over the summer, during which she had inadvertently revealed many of the secrets Hermione had been hiding from them. Once they knew, they point blank refused to allow her to return to Hogwarts, but Minerva had persuaded them to come to the Academy with Hermione and to portkey to and from their dental practice each day. "Rose isn't a child- she has her own thoughts and is perfectly capable of making her own decisions."

"She's fourteen. Not exactly an adult." Harry frowned.

"Harry, at fourteen you'd faced Voldemort three times, killed a troll and a basilisk and was competing in a tournament aimed at students three years older than you. Age is no excuse for acting idiotically." She said haughtily.

"Yeah Hermione, I had done those things. But you know what? I could have been killed by that troll- it would have been safer to fetch a teacher. The same with the basilisk. I went running after who I thought was a mass murderer targeting me and tried to outfly a dragon! That was idiocy too! And I had Aunt Minerva right there at Hogwarts with me!" he snapped. "So please tell me how she was supposed to do any better when she had a house elf!"

"She had Sirius, didn't she?"

The man in question scoffed. "Oh please- I spent half my time hiding from my demons in a bottle. She was more sensible than me when she was ten, I reckon."

"Sirius!" Minerva looked horrified. "You got drunk while alone with Rosalie?"

The man shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not proud of it. And I haven't done it in a while. But straight out of Azkaban… well, I couldn't stay in dog form forever. And then the memories came back."

"So you got drunk. Leaving Rose to pick up what was left, I suppose."

"What do you want me to say Minerva?! I didn't know she was my daughter, since none of you saw fit to tell me!"

"Her relationship to you is irrelevant!" she snapped. "She was a child- you should not have been drunk around her in the first place!"

"Stop it, both of you!" Harry yelled. "This isn't helping!" They fell silent. "Hermione- Rose is perhaps one of the most sensible, kindest people I know. If you slag her off again, I assure you that you will no like the consequences for your future." he looked at her pointedly. "Aunt Minerva, we have no idea what Sirius went through so do not be so quick to judge him. And Sirius, things will be a lot easier if you stop picking fights and being so defensive."

Harry sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Does anyone actually know why Rosie is so sick?"

"I believe I can help with that Mr Potter."

Snape swept in, moving straight to Rosalie and murmuring a spell to check on her. "Still asleep." He decreed. "But nothing worrying."

"What's wrong with her?"

"Severe magical exhaustion."

Harry scowled. "I'd worked out that much for myself, funnily enough."

"Harry." Minerva reprimanded, frowning. "Severus- please just explain."

"I had an idea to help Emmeline- several months ago now. The plan was to link her magic with someone else's in the hopes of boosting her own and thus enabling her recovery."

"And you linked it with Rosalie?" Sirius frowned.

"There was no other choice mutt. Blood relatives have the closest magical match- there was nobody even close to Emmeline other than the girl." He sneered. "Not to mention the fact that she was the only one around."

"We've all been in France for months." Harry frowned. The potions master shot him a scathing look.

"And when was the last time you visited Emmeline in the hospital before her recovery?"

That caused another moment's silence as Harry ducked his head, realising he hadn't been in months. Snape scoffed and turned back to Rosalie.

"The treatment worked better than we thought it would- Emmeline not only improved but woke up and with other potions was capable of walking around and functioning. We increased the flow of the link when Emmeline was suffering from the extreme fatigue in the hopes of further improvement. It wasn't supposed to affect Miss Vance this badly."

"Is she going to be alright?" came a soft voice from the doorway. They all whipped around the see Emmeline leaning heavily against the frame, pale and drawn.

"Emmeline, you should be in bed." Sirius frowned. She shot him a furious look.

"My daughter is ill- something none of you saw fit to inform me! I should be with her!" She snapped. "Severus, will she be alright?"

"I believe so, but I can't be sure." he admitted. "I expected her to experience some tiredness, maybe find casting spells to be different. This reaction is… unexpected. But she was supposed to contact me if anything more happened- the dunderhead didn't."

"Because it was working." Rosalie murmured, dragging her eyes.

"Rosie!"

"Rose!"

"Rosalie!"

"It was working?" Snape questioned, his eyes boring into her. She suppressed a groaned as she shifted, nodding slighting and gazing at him with tired eyes.

" _Maman_ was improving. She was stronger, less tired. That is why I did not contact you."

"Rosalie, my health is not more important than yours!" Emmeline exclaimed softly, stumbling forward to sit on the edge of her bed.

Snape frowned at the younger blonde. "You could have died, stupid child. If the elf had not thought to bring you to me…"

"No, I wouldn't have." She denied, her voice soft and words slurring. "Missy has a pre-existing order from _Maman_ to protect the lives of Harry and I which supersedes any and all other orders. As long as she did not interfere I knew that my life was not in danger."

"Insolent brat." He cursed. "What if she had made a mistake?"

But Rosalie had slipped into unconsciousness again and Emmeline was sobbing softly, leaving Snape to face the wrath of Minerva.

"How dare you place an experimental spell on an underage child, Severus Snape!? You had no right!"

"If the child was old enough to live alone without adult supervision she was certainly old enough to decide whether to partake in this or not." He retorted. "She had a choice, Minerva, it is not as if I forced her!"

"But there wouldn't have been a choice, not for Rosie! She would do anything to make _maman_ well!" Harry protested.

"That, Mr Potter, is not my problem. I gave her a choice- she made it in full knowledge of the potential consequences. My conscience is clear."

And with that, he swept out of the room.

* * *

Harry was half laying in the chair next to Rosalie's bed, supposed to be doing his transfiguration work but finding more and more that his gaze drifted back to his sister. His mother was in the bed next to her, as sound asleep as she was.

Eventually he sighed and placed the work to one side, propping his chin on his hand.

"Do you remember that time we decided to run away?" he murmured. " _Maman_ had been spending so much time at work that we decided to teach her a lesson and go to live in the woods. We thought we were so brave and grown up, sneaking out in the middle of the night and using that book to work out what was safe to eat or not. Never realising that the entire time we were still safe within the wards and that Missy was watching over us."

He smiled slightly, watching the gentle rise and fall of Rose's body as she breathed. "All those days we would spend in the forest, leaving as soon as we'd finished breakfast and not returning until the sun was setting. We'd eat dinner and fall straight into bed and then do it all over again the next day.

"Did I ever tell you that you taught me how to play? My aunt and uncle before didn't believe in having an imagination. I wasn't allowed toys, really, or allowed to play so I didn't know how. And I treasured those days we spent."

He huffed a small laugh, looking down at his hands for a moment.

"Fighting pirates and taming dragons."

His head snapped up, shock on his face when he saw tired blue eyes staring back at him. He grinned happily at her, relieved she'd woken. "Exploring new worlds and hunting for treasure."

"Burying it too." She smiled weakly. "Did we ever manage to find that treasure chest we buried?"

He chuckled. "I'd forgotten about that. I don't think we did, no."

They fell into silence again, and Harry noticed her eyelids beginning to droop. "Harry?" she murmured, just before she fell into sleep. "I wouldn't have changed it for the world… not for anything."

"Me neither." He whispered, reaching out to entwine his fingers with hers. She was already asleep again. "Me neither."

* * *

Rosalie felt irritation wash through her as angry voices speaking in hushed tones broke through the haze of sleep. Couldn't they be quiet?

She tried to turn her head towards the noise, but the attempt sent pain lancing through her and she moaned softly, tensing automatically which only caused more pain. The only person in the room to notice was Neville, who broke away from where he was watching the arguing group with a disappointed expression to sit beside her, drawing the curtain to block them off from the rest of the room.

"Hi." He greeted softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got run over by a hippogriff." She gasped. Neville leant over to grab the bottle of pain potion sitting beside her bed, carefully helping her to swallow some.

"Better?"

She nodded. "Thank you. What are they arguing about?" the voices had got louder on the other side of the curtain. Neville shrugged.

"You, Harry, your mother, Voldemort, Snape, the academy, Hogwarts, Dumbledore. Want me to carry on?"

" _Non,_ I think I get the picture." She sighed. They listened for a moment.

"She was a child! Why was she on her own in the first place? Let alone for long enough for nobody to realise how ill she was?"

That was Mrs Weasley, who had apparently arrived alongside her four youngest children, judging by the other voices that rose.

"With all due respect Molly, this has absolutely nothing to do with you. And apart from that, until we opened the academy for the protection of people which includes you and your family, Sirius was living with her!"

Aunt Minerva, Rose recognised sleepily.

"Oh and that's so much better!"

"Hey! Sirius may not be perfect but he's doing the best that he can! I'd like to see what you look like after twelve years in Azkaban!"

Harry.

"That's redundant! That man shouldn't be left in charge of a dog, let alone a child!"

"Molly enough!" Minerva barked.

"I am the first person to admit that I have not been the best father or Godfather. But I care about those kids as much as you care about yours!" Sirius got louder and louder as he spoke. "I might not have watched her grow up, or been there for the important bits but she is my daughter and my heir, and Harry is my Godson! And i'm damned if I'll stand here and let you talk as if you know best for them! You don't!"

"What do you know about children?!"

"I know that smothering them will do more harm than good! Tell me Molly, did you never wonder why all five of your eldest children moved away from you as soon as they could?"

"WHY YOU-"

Rosalie let out a small cry, clamping her hands to her ears and curling into a ball in an effort to block out the noise. Neville slid his hand over hers, waving his wand to cast a silencing charm around the bed.

The girl had tears streaming silently down her cheeks. " _J'ai voulu_ s _eulement_ _ma maman._ " She whispered. "I missed her so much that it hurt. I just wanted to make sure she stayed well. Was that truly so wrong?"

Neville could only slide beside her on the bed and hold her tightly as she sobbed silently into his shoulder, her body trembling while outside the bubble he'd created the adults continued to shout at each other.

 _ **Je suis bien- I'm okay**_

 _ **Je suis desolèe- I'm sorry**_

 _ **Je sais- I know**_

 _ **J'ai voulu seulement ma maman- I only wanted my mum**_


	38. Chapter 38

**_I know it's been a few days- i'm really sorry. The people who own our house sent a text about three weeks ago telling us they're selling it, so we're having to search for somewhere to move to within a matter of months, which is easier said than done when you live in the middle of the English countryside._**

 ** _In my defence, i'm currently posting this at past midnight for you though._**

 ** _I'll try to have the next one up sooner. xx_**

Neville spent most of the next few weeks scowling. While the adults tended to argue about Rosalie an awful lot, they had a remarkable tendency to forget she was in the room and simply yell at each other in front of her, not noticing when she would hurry out. She spent most of her time in tears or giggling hysterically, which Snape thought might be due to the after effects of the link. Neville took to conspiring with Luna and Susan- who had broken up with Harry in disgust at his treatment of his sister- to keep Rose away from the numerous people who now inhabited the academy.

He had never been so disgusted with the people in his life before.

Harry wasn't much help. He felt so guilty that he hadn't seen what had happened to Rose that he avoided her completely, sitting morosely by himself anytime he wasn't in a lesson.

"' _Arry?_ " Fleur tilted her head as she came across him in the canteen. "What ees wrong?"

"A shorter answer would be what isn't wrong."

She smiled sympathetically, coming to sit beside him. "What 'appened to Rose was not your fault."

"Isn't it? She's my sister, Fleur, and I never saw that anything was wrong."

"She did not want you to see. 'Arry, I know Rose. She adores you. She would not 'ave wanted you to believe zat zere was a problem." she placed her hand on his wrist, squeezing lightly. He sighed, turning his hand over to interlace their fingers.

"But there was a problem. She could have died."

"It was 'er choice. And eef you spoke to 'er instead of avoiding her, she would tell you ze same. You are 'urting 'er more now by not talking to 'er."

He bit his lip. "I don't know what to say to her." he admitted. Fleur rolled her eyes.

"She ees your sister! Eet will not matter what you say, only zat you 'ave said eet."

He nodded slowly, and gave her a small smile. "Thank you Fleur."

She grinned at him, leaning over to kiss his cheek and he remembered how much prettier she looked when she wasn't scowling or being disdainful. "Talk to 'er, 'Arry."

She stood gracefully and he watched her walk away, hips swaying and-

STOP!

She's your cousin! He told himself fiercely, shaking his head to clear those thoughts.

 _But she isn't really…_ whispered a small voice in his head. He scowled, angry at himself. She was as good as! He argued. He'd grown up with her, and Gabrielle! Merlin, Gabbi sometimes called him her big brother! Thinking of Fleur like that was completely inappropriate!

Even if they weren't technically related…

* * *

Rose lay curled on her mother's bed, nestled against her as she read from a book and her mother dozed.

"Rose?" Emmeline murmured suddenly. The girl jumped slightly, lifting her head to look at her mother curiously. "I don't want you to link your magic with mine again. No matter what happens. Do you understand me?"

"But _Maman-!_ "

"No Rosalie." she cupped her face gently. "You are more important to me than anything else. If I die, then so be it. But I will not have you at risk as well."

Rose let out a quiet sob. "And what will happen to us, if you do die?" she challenged. "What will happen to me?"

"You will live." Emmeline said fiercely. "And that is far more important than me. You will not link with me, do you understand? I want you to promise."

" _Maman..._ "

"Promise me, Rosalie. Give me your word."

There was a long pause. "I promise." Rose managed to choke out. She buried her head in the crook of Emmeline's neck as her mother pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I love you, Rosalie. I know I haven't always been the best mother, but-"

"Yes you were!" Rose interrupted fiercely. "You are a wonderful mother."

"No, I wasn't baby." Emmeline rested her cheek on her head. "I worked to much, was far too strict sometimes and got caught up with Harry to the detriment of you."

"And if you hadn't, he might not have survived this far." Rose raised her head to look her. " _Maman_ , you raised two children by yourself in a world which is not always kind to unmarried mothers. You gave Harry and I the best childhood while making sure we were prepared for the future. And you never put anything else before us. You might not have been perfect, but you were pretty damn close."

"I agree."

They both looked up to see a nervous Harry in the doorway. He glanced anxiously at Rose, expecting to see condemnation in her eyes but instead she smiled brightly at him, blinking away tears and holding out her hand for him to take.

Emmeline was crying freely now, holding Rose so tightly her knuckles were white. Harry crossed over to take Rose's hand, unsurprised when she used it to tug him on the bed next to her, twisting so that she was on her side and he could just about squeeze on.

"Rosie..." Harry whispered. "...I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

She tilted her head so that she could smile at him, squeezing his hand gently and the three laid peacefully together, cramped and uncomfortable but content.

"You realise that the purpose of being in the hospital wing is to rest?" snipped a voice from behind them.

"I am resting." Emmeline replied without opening her eyes. "I'm laying down, aren't I?"

Harry snorted in laughter while Snape simply sighed. "All the same, kindly ask your spawn to vacate the bed. I need to to run my tests."

The pair rolled off and Emmeline shifted into a seated position. "Are these going to make any difference?" she asked wearily. "You still don't know what's wrong me."

"That is why I am conducting tests." he answered dryly. She sighed, but nodded for him to continue. Harry and Rose watched in silence as the man waved his wand in complication motions, lips moving silently.

"Tell me again what happened when you were injured." Snape demanded as he worked. Emmeline exhaled loudly.

"I've already told you I don't know!"

"Go through it anyway."

Emmeline grit her teeth, but complied. "I got a message through to report to the office at the French ministry. I went, but no one seemed to know why I had received it so I went to my office to see if I had any messages before I went to ask my boss. I remember entering my office and putting my bag on my desk, and then nothing. Everything went black. The next memory I have is of being in the hospital when you woke me up."

Harry was frowning. "You know… that sounds a bit like what happened to Susan and me."

Snape's gaze snapped to him. "What are you talking about?"

"During the second task." Harry explained. "Susan and I both remember receiving messages from an unknown origin saying we had to go outside of our dormitories at once. We both remember leaving them, but then nothing until we woke up in that classroom. It's… it's just similar."

"Yes it is." Snape murmured, staring at him piercingly.

"I don't wish to cause alarm..." Rosalie began uncertainly. "But it's happened to me too."

"What?" Emmeline looked at her fearfully. "When?"

"Just after Sirius came to live with us." she bit her lip. "I received a message at school to go home immediately. I remember going in that direction and entering the park, and then nothing. I woke up at home with Missy hovering over me- i'd sent a patronus to Sirius asking if he was alright, but when he realised Missy hadn't sent the message either he came to meet me and eventually found me collapsed in the park."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Harry demanded.

"It slipped my mind! I thought I just had low blood sugar or something!" she protested, and glanced at Snape. "Do you think they're connected?"

"I do not know, Miss Vance." he admitted. "But it seems unlikely that they are not."

"But why did I have such a different reaction if they are?" Emmeline questioned. "I was in a coma for four years. The children all woke up after a few hours."

He pressed his lips together. "Maybe because they are children- their physiology is different."

"Professor, Harry is taller and more muscular than some adults." Rose pointed out sceptically. "How different could it be?"

The man sighed. "I do not know." he repeated. And that caused silence to fall over the group as the implications hit them.

* * *

Rose was sat tucked into a corner of the canteen at dinner, talking quietly with Neville, Susan and Luna when she noticed the rest of the hall falling silent. Looking around in confusion, she followed the line of gazed to the tabby patronus hovering in the centre of the room, just in front of Amelia Bones.

" _Death eaters attacking Hogwarts. Wards holding- prepare for evacuees._ " Her aunt's voice came out, loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear and there was a single second of stillness.

And then, almost as one, movement erupted from everyone corner of the hall.

The adults and oldest magic users hurried to the unwarded area, transfiguring their clothes into more suitable ones along the way. Rose rushed along with them, gripping her wand tightly as she slipped into the circle around a portkey, meeting Harry's eyes as she did so. He looked grimly at her.

"This is it." He whispered. She nodded. There was a pause, before she threw herself into his arms, careful not to release the rope.

"I love you, brother-mine _._ " She whispered. He held her tightly, murmuring fiercely:

" _Je t'aime aussi, ma petite soeur_."

"Leaving in ten seconds!" called Sirius. He smiled at them both reassuringly, but it didn't reach his eyes. Rose knew that behind them, the few infants and babies were being ushered into a dormitory alongside a pregnant witch, all wearing emergency portkeys while the other children and non-magicals would be clearing the hall, stacking the tables and chairs away and creating a larger hospital wing. The injured would be portkeyed into the area she was standing in, and some of the children too young to fight but old enough to want to help would use gurneys to rush them into the hall, where the mother of one of the muggleborns who was a doctor would assess the severity of the injury.

Meanwhile, the children left at Hogwarts would be evacuated- Rose was in charge of this. Alongside Hannah Abbott and Susan, they would lead the children down the secret passages, helped by the Marauders Map until they were outside the wards, where they'd be portkeyed in small groups to the academy.

It was a good system, Rosalie reassured herself as she prepared for the portkey to activate. They'd rehearsed it multiple times, just in case. Her free hand crept out, gripping Harry's tightly.

"Rosie-" he began but she shook her head.

"It doesn't matter." She smiled at him, gripping his hand tighter as Sirius activated their portkey and they spun away in a blur.

Her heart was beating loudly in her chest as they landed clumsily on the floor of the Chamber of Secrets. Another group would be landing in the shrieking shack, she knew, and another in Honeydukes' cellar.

Silently, they broke off, Harry hissing to open the entrance of the chamber, which- on further inspection several months before- had been revealed to have a narrow set of steps that acted as a ladder. They climbed up without a word, and Rosalie drew to the side alongside the group that would be helping with the evacuation, forcing herself not to glance worriedly after her brother.

"Alright, there's a group in the Hufflepuff common room- Hannah and Susan, they're yours. There's another small group near them in a bathroom- Ernie and Megan, could you get them? You have a clear path along the corridor with the statue of the witch and broomstick for maybe ten minutes." The four rushed off, and Rosalie continued to scrutinise the map, directing pairs to retrieve the small groups of students scattered around the massive school. When they returned, the pair would be sent out to the next group, and the students directed down the ladder where there were more people waiting to usher them through the chamber towards where the portkey waited.

Beyond the castle walls, Rose could hear shouts and yells and at one point Daphne Greengrass, who was ensuring her younger sister actually left, informed her that a small group of deatheaters had overcome the wards and were in the castle. Rose bent her head over the map, frowning.

"I don't know who is who." She muttered. "I'm liable to send someone straight towards them at this rate."

"Here." Daphne took over, pointing out who was a student and who wasn't. Together, the girls managed to clear a large portion of the castle, working in tandem until suddenly, Daphne froze.

"Uh oh…"

"What is it?"

The Slytherin was deathly pale. "Those are deatheaters." She pointed at the group growing larger by the second, emerging seemingly from nowhere on the map.

"How are they in the castle?" breathed Susan from where she'd just ushered a first year into the chamber.

"We have another problem- the others don't know they're here. They think the wards are holding." Daphne pointed out.

" _Merde._ " Muttered Rose. She bit her lip.

"What do we do?" questioned Hannah nervously.

Rosalie pressed her lips together. "You carry on getting students out of here. Daphne take over my role."

"What about you?" Susan demanded.

"Using magical means to warn them is too risky- the only way is to do it in person." Rose pointed out. "If I'm quick, I can make it to the great hall before the deatheaters do."

She took off running, struggling to keep the route in her mind. Left, then right, she reminded herself as she skidded around a corner.

Her heart stopped when someone grabbed her from behind.

"MMPH-!" she struggled in their grip, but more hands drew her back into an alcove.

"Ooh, isn't this a pretty one?" a woman cooed. Rose wriggled, attempting to break free but hands pressed her against the wall, one over her mouth and more pinning her limbs and hips.

"I don't recognise this one." Another voice murmured. "Who is she? Mudblood?"

Rose cursed herself mentally even as she fought to get free. Because in her rush to warn the others about the group entering the castle, she'd forgotten about the few who had already got in.

"Draco? Who is she?" demanded the woman. Rose's eyes snapped over to a frightened looking blond boy.

"I… I'm not sure." He stuttered. "I don't know her."

"Well you must! There are a handful of students left in the school! How can you not know her?" another man snapped.

"Unless she isn't a student." The other man mused. He reached out the hand not holding down her harm and trailed it down her face, smirking when she recoiled as much as she could. "Who are you, pretty?"

"She isn't wearing robes… do the professors have kids?"

"She's old enough to be a student."

"Maybe she's younger than she looks."

All of a sudden, almost imperceptibly, the hand on her mouth released its pressure ever so slightly and Rose took the opportunity to bite down as hard as she could.

The man howled, jumping back and cradling his hand as Rose stopped holding up her own weight. Not expecting the sudden heaviness, the hands pining her allowed her to drop and without hesitating Rose pushed herself off the wall and into their legs, sending them tumbling into each other while she rolled out of the way as quickly as she could, shoving herself to her feet and taking off down the corridor.

Behind her, shouts and shrieks echoed but she didn't stop, jumping the banisters to land at the bottom of the 'u' shaped staircase, landing with bended legs to absorb the impact. She rushed down the next corridor, sighing in relief as she saw the doors of the hall in front of her. She burst inside, attracting the attention of the few people standing close to it. She darted through, sighing in relief when she saw her aunt and brother standing at the teacher's table.

" _Maman,_ Harry, _tante_ Minerva!" she rushed to them, not heeding the strange looks she got from others. "The death eaters found another way into ze castle- there are dozens of zem now."

Minerva paled. "Are all the students out?"

"Almost. There are some left that we either can't get to or won't come."

"There were always going to be a couple." She said grimly. She glanced at the other people around the table. "This is it."

Harry withdrew his gun from the small of his back, quickly checking the ammo before glancing at Rose. "You should go back to the chamber- portkey away."

"Do you really think I could return to France and twiddle my thumbs while waiting for news?" she checked her own gun, sliding it into her waistband for easy access.

"You don't like to kill."

"I don't like losing my family, more." She said firmly. "I'm staying. Besides, we've always been better fighting together."

He grinned. "That's true."

"You two find Nagini- we'll deal with the deatheaters." Sirius gripped their shoulders, smiling weakly at them. The remaining few in the room had their wands in their hands, facing the large doors which weren't thick enough to block out the noise outside. "Leave by the teacher's entrance." He ordered, joining the group by the doors. Minerva kissed both of them, cupping their faces for a moment before she went to stand by him, leaving Emmeline with the children.

"You realise, of course, that if I had my way you would both be back at the academy?"

They both smiled weakly. "We know." Harry hugged her tightly.

"We'll do our best to come back." Rosalie promised. Emmeline reached out and clutched both of them tightly, none willing to let go of the others for the longest moments.

"Emmeline!" Sirius called. She kissed the children.

"I love you both." she whispered, swallowing back tears.

"We love you too."

Dumbledore was looking at them, an unreadable expression on his face but Harry ignored him as he caught Rose's wrist and begun to draw her from the hall, casting one last glance at their terrified mother.

They ran through the halls, automatically stepping so that they made as little noise as possible. Harry knew the way better than she had and darted down hidden passages, getting them back to the bathroom Rose had left earlier in a fraction of the time.

"Daphne…"

"You're okay!" the Slytherin breathed in relief. "I saw you heading straight towards them but I didn't know how to warn you! Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback… I thought you were dead!"

"What's this?" Harry asked sharply but Rose waved him off.

"Does the map show animals?"

Daphne shook her head. "No- people and animagus's only. Otherwise it would be packed with names."

" _Merde_." Muttered Rose.

Harry set his jaw. "Then we'll have to do it the old fashioned way. Daphne, get everyone you can out and then leave yourself."

"I will. Be careful, both of you!"

They nodded and took off.

By now, the fighting had well and truly begun, shouts and crashes filling the air. In the grounds outside, Voldemort's army had arrived, giants and werewolves clashing with witches and wizards shooting out curses.

"Full moon." Rosalie noted quietly.

"I doubt that's coincidence." Harry glanced at her. "Ready?"

" _Absolument._ "

They raced down into the thick of the fighting and the world became a blur of curses and spells. Years of training propelled Rose and Harry into fighting together, neither needing words to know what the other intended.

Rose shot two wizards bearing down on a frightened looking brunette in Hogwarts robes, rushing forward to yank her to her feet. "Second floor girl's bathroom." She instructed, thrusting her towards the stairs as she dodged a killing curse aimed her way by a brown haired man. She shot at him without a thought, turning away before he'd even hit the ground in time to see another wizard raise his wand towards Harry as he fought someone else, turned in the other direction.

"Harry!" she launched a throwing knife at the deatheater; it landed in his heart with a sickening thud and squelch. He looked surprised, glancing down to see the handle protruding from his chest before he looked back up at Rose, opening his mouth to say something. Instead, he choked on the blood that spattered out.

Trembling but with a forced calm, Rose walked forward to pull the knife out, ignoring the swell of blood that soaked his robes as she wiped the knife on his sleeve. Harry was looking at her.

" _Est-tu bien?_ "

" _Oui._ "

And they launched into action again, pressed back to back as they fired at the oncoming masked figures, ducking and weaving around each other as easily as if they were performing a choreographed dance, each step deliberate and graceful. They made their way out of the doors and into the open air, the night sky lit with the light of spells fired one after another.

"Do you see it?"

" _Non,_ but then I have not seen Voldemort either!" Rose shouted back, dancing out of the path of a stupefy.

"Neville, watch out!" Harry yelled suddenly, shoving the boy to the ground to avoid a killing curse aimed at his back. Bellatrix Lestrange cackled.

"The ickle Longbottom boy! Tell me, how are your parents doing?" she shrieked with laughter, sending a fresh barrage of spells towards the three.

"A lot better than you will be in a minute!" he shouted, retuning fire while Harry shielded them. Rose circled around to behind the witch, waiting until she was sufficiently distracted before running and kicking her wand out of her hand while barrelling into her; the brunette crashed to the ground with Rose on top of her.

"What kind of witch doesn't use her wand?" she snarled, reaching out and dragging Rose up towards her by the hair.

Rose smiled sweetly. "The kind who likes to win." And she rammed the heel of her hand into her windpipe.

Bellatrix choked, hands flying to her throat as Rosalie gracefully rose to her feet. "Neville?" she said, her soft voice strangely out-of-place in the midst of the battle. "Do you want to finish her, or shall I?"

The boy walked forward slowly, eyes fixed on the witch as she writhed, wand held loosely by his side. "I… I think I need to."

She inclined her head, stepping away and retrieving her own wand from where it had fallen in the struggle.

"By the way, I think I saw the snake heading around the castle towards the back." He hadn't removed his eyes from Bellatrix.

"Thank you."

She and Harry hurried away, both ignoring the flash of light and muttered curse that resonated from behind them.


	39. Chapter 39

_**Hi everyone, thank you so much for reading and reviewing!**_

 _ **Alix33- i'm so sorry to hear about your situation :( Fortunately, it seems that even if it isn't perfect, we may have found a house. I hope everything works out for you! In answer to your question, in my head Rose was reading The Secret Garden (I think in her situation, she'd probably want to avoid anything too complicated or 'wordy') however I suppose doesn't really matter so you could pretend whatever you like! As a side note, thank you for always reviewing- it really does mean a lot! x**_

 _ **Enjoy everyone X**_

They ran as fast as they could, shooting bullets and spells so quickly their figures blurred. Rosalie wasn't sure how long it had been- the sun was far lower in the sky than when they'd started, the shadows creeping across the grounds of the castle but it seemed to her as if no time had passed at all.

"Have you seen _Maman?_ " Harry asked Rose, ducking a reducto.

"She should still be in the hall- she wasn't supposed to be fighting." she whirled, smashing her foot into the mask of the man in front of her, who grunted and dropped to the ground. They took off again, not slowing as they rounded the corner. But when they saw what was in front of them, they skidded to a stop.

Dumbledore, Minerva and Sirius were surrounded, duelling with multiple masked figures who were heavily outnumbering them.

Without so much as a glance towards the other, Rosalie and Harry began to fire towards them. They'd incapacitated five before they had to pause as a bombardment of spells sped towards them. The tables had turned, however, with five fighting against eight rather than the three against thirteen it had been before.

Rosalie hit the ground, rolling to avoid the curses aimed her way. Beside her, Harry was locked in place as he struggled to block the stream of fire aimed at him. Then, suddenly, he heard Rose screaming in agony.

Heart in his throat, he spared her a glance to see her arched on the ground, fists clenched as she gasped. Anger rushed through him. He reached for his gun with his left hand, firing at the death eater he had been duelling with and spinning towards the one holding Rosie under the cruciatus. But before he could squeeze the trigger, Sirius had risen up behind the man and cast a cutting curse at his throat.

"Is she alright?!"

There was a brief pause, but then shakily Rose held a thumb up, gasping for breath. " _Fils de putain-_ that _hurt!_ "

Harry gripped her forearm, pulling her to her feet and supporting her as she swayed. "Okay?"

She nodded, firing at another deatheater behind him. "Can you see Nagini anywhere?"

" _Non._ "

By this point, Minerva and Dumbledore and dealt with the remaining deatheaters and were hurrying over to them.

"Rose…" called Minerva, drawing her into a hug. "Are you alright?"

"Fine. A little trembly, but I think that's fading." Sure enough, when she held up her hand it shook slightly.

And then, high pitched and terrible, a voice Harry recognised all too well echoed over the castle.

"Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me." it sneered. "I do not want to kill you- I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood."

There was silence now, the kind of silence that was too loud by far. "Give me Harry Potter." said Voldemort's voice. "Give me him and you shall not be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded.

"You have fought valiantly." the high, cold voice continued. "Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately- you have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured.

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

Harry felt his stomach sink, his body numbing as the words sank in.

" _Merde._ " Muttered Rose from beside him.

"Back to the hall." Minerva ordered, ushering them inside. Rose leant against Harry, limping slightly as they joined the other fighters. It was during the walk that he realised the very castle was fighting back against the invaders- the statues had risen from their plinths and taken up arms, the ghosts were acting as look outs and even Peeves was joining the effort, zooming past them with an armful of rocks.

Harry felt his heart drop as they entered the hall, and he saw the rows of bodies laid along one wall. Each was covered in a crisp white sheet; there were some that were painfully small.

Madam Pomphrey rushed around, tending to the injured who were too critical or not critical enough to portkey back to the academy. The survivors stood in groups, their arms around each other's necks as the sound of weeping filled the air.

Hermione had looked up as they walked in, tears fresh on her face as she approached the group. "Who?" Harry asked weakly.

"Percy. Lavender. Padma. Colin. Ernie and Justin. Professor Sinastra. Dozens of others I haven't been brave enough to look at yet." She let out a sob at the last sentence, falling into Harry as he stepped forward and enfolded her into his arms.

"Harry." she whispered. "Harry, i'm sorry."

He shushed her gently. "It's okay now..."

"No it's not!" she sobbed. "You could have- I could have- and you wouldn't have known-"

"Hermione, it's okay, it's okay." he soothed, rocking her as she clung to him.

"Harry, i'm _sorry._ I'm so sorry. You were right, you've always been right." she was crying harder now. "I didn't realise but today… hundreds could have died if it hadn't been for you. They weren't here… _he_ wasn't here. This was what you meant and you were right."

Those listening were somewhat baffled, but Harry understood perfectly and pressed a kiss to her temple. "All i've ever asked is that I can trust you." he whispered. "Even if that takes some time to rebuild completely, you're my friend. One of the first I made here. I want you as my friend again."

"I want that too."

"You know I love you, right?" Harry murmured. "Always have, always will."

Hermione smiled tearfully at him. "I know. I love you too."

"Good."

He rested his cheek on her head as he looked over to Rose. "I have to go to him…" he whispered, half to himself.

"You do not!" Rosalie snapped, glaring at him.

"He will kill more people!"

"He's going to do that anyway! You think you dying will stop him?"

"She's right, my boy." Dumbledore said softly. Harry grit his teeth, burying his face in Hermione's hair. He was only half aware of the fact that many of the fighters in the hall had gathered around, gravitating towards them with an almost childlike hope on their faces that these people would be able to save them.

"We need to find the snake." Sirius said, running a hand through his hair.

"I think it's safe to assume Voldemort is keeping it close." Harry sighed.

Rose was nibbling her lip. "He must have noticed his connection to Harry has vanished. What are the chances he knows the rest of the Horcruxes are gone as well?"

Dumbledore let out a strangled sound. "What?"

"Did you really think you were the only one who knew?" Minerva shot him an amused look. "And in answer to your question Rose, it's probably safer to operate on the assumption that he does know."

"He must." Emmeline agreed. "Which only makes getting Nagini harder."

"HARRY! ROSE! PROFESSORS!"

Daphne came flying into the hall, eyes panicked with her hair streaming behind her as she clutched the Marauder's Map.

"Miss Greengrass?" Minerva questioned crisply. "What is it?"

"They've got them!"

Harry and Rose exchanged a baffled look. "Who's got who?" the blonde asked gently. Daphne gulped in air.

"Deatheaters… they've taken people hostage and back to where they're congregated. It's- they broke through the wards and are on the edge of the grounds. At least, some of them are, not all of them but the map doesn't tell who's alive and who's dead so I can't work out if they just standing still or lying unconscious or if they're actually dead and now they've got the others! We have to help them!" She babbled.

Minerva blinked at the onslaught of information, reaching out to gently grip Daphne's shoulders. "Miss Greengrass." she said firmly. "Take a breath and calm yourself."

She did so, shuddering breaths becoming more even as Rose rubbed her back.

"Daphne, you say that Voldemort's forces have taken people hostage?" checked Emmeline, leaning heavily against Sirius. The girl nodded.

"I didn't realise… there were so many names and I was concentrating on getting the younger students back to the academy. And then when I did realise it was too late!" she said miserably.

"It most certainly wasn't your fault." Minerva told her. "Who did they take?"

"Fay Dunbar, Ginny Weasley, Professors Lupin and Sprout." her voice hitched as cries echoed around her at the names, but she carried on regardless. "Katerina Ivanov, the Garcia brothers and Katie Bell. Professor Snape was there too, but I wasn't sure if-"

"Thank you, Miss Greengrass." Dumbledore interrupted. She looked at him in surprise. "I suggest you now also leave, before the ceasefire ends."

"I most certainly will not!" she replied heatedly. "Katerina is my friend! And Professor Sprout one of the only teachers who doesn't discriminate because I wear green on my robes! Unlike yourself, _headmaster._ "

She deliberately turned her back on him and looked at the small group expectantly. "Well? What do we do now?"

"Come here." Sirius commanded, taking the map from Daphne and spreading it across a table. "Now where are they?"

Daphne pointed to a corner of the grounds where dozens of names were gathered. "The names merge together, but they were there..."

"I forgot it did that..." Sirius mused. "We always meant to fix it but Filch took it before we got the chance. I wonder if-"

"Sirius." Emmeline interrupted. "Not the time."

"Sorry."

Rose suddenly straightened, moving closer to the map. "Harry look!"

 _Tom Riddle_ had suddenly appeared, close to the edge of the forbidden forest and moving to where his followers had gathered.

"If we hurry we can intercept him. He might have Nagini with him!" Harry grabbed his wand and gun, Rose rising in tandem with him as they hurried towards the door.

"Wait!" Emmeline stood too. "You're not going alone!"

" _Maman,_ you can't come!" Rose protested as Harry glanced worriedly Voldemort's progress across the grounds.

"She's right Emmeline, you're not strong enough." Sirius agreed. "I'll go-"

Harry shook his head. "No, you have to rescue Remus and the others! We'll be fine, we can do this." He began to move again.

"No!" Emmeline snapped. "I don't want you going at all! Either of you! But if you have to, you are not doing so alone!"

"I will go wiz zem." Fleur stepped forward, giving Emmeline a tiny smile. "We will be fine, _tante Emmeline._ "

"That's no better!"

" _Maman_ , we have been training for this since we were six and four." Harry said gently. "We have to do this, no matter the cost. There is no other way."

"Harry, I have never believed in that prophecy!" Emmeline cried, stepping forward to grab his hand. "You don't have to face him- it's probably not real!"

"But Voldemort believes it is!" Rose reminded her. "And he will not stop until he believes he has prevented it! Whether we believe it or not is immaterial!"

"She's right, _Maman_ , we have to go and do this. Or at least, I do." he amended. Rose glared at him.

"Don't even think of doing this without me."

" _Maman,_ i'm sorry but we have to go." Harry glanced urgently at the map. "We'll be fine!"

They ran out, steps echoing in the stone halls as they sprinted through the castle. A few times, they passed people- students- travelling in the opposite direction but they never stopped, bursting into the evening air minutes before the sun disappeared completely from view.

"Do you see him?" Harry panted, scanning the grounds below him as they moved along the highest point of the sloping grounds.

Rose shook her head, a hand pressed to her side. "No. Did we miss him?"

"Maybe he went in a different direction." suggested Fleur.

"Where?"

They continued to jog along, searching for the pale white figure. Harry led the girls towards the forest, stopping just before they breached the tree line and turning adjacent to it instead.

"I don't understand. We should have met him- he couldn't have gotten past us!" Harry looked frustrated.

"He could have if he went into the forest." Rose pointed out, but he frowned.

"Why would he do that? Why not go to the deatheater gathering?" He peered in either direction, before finally looking into the trees. "Spread out and see if you can find anything. Don't go too far though, and keep your wands out."

Rosalie and Fleur nodded, each walking a little distance away on either side of him and moving into the foliage.

It wasn't long before Rose began to suspect how stupid of an idea this had been. The further they moved into the trees the denser the forest became, and with the best will in the world hearing a snake coming towards them would have been impossible. Regardless, she carried on walking even when the faint sounds of Fleur and Harry had faded away, leaving her alone with the rustling leaves.

Footsteps crunching, she scanned the area around her, searching for any sign that someone else had been here before her. But, if she were honest with herself, she had no idea what to look for. She and Harry might have spent half their childhood in the woods behind their home but they had done so with the knowledge that the wards stretched for miles, and that nothing dangerous could pass them. They had never had anything to fear, not as Rosalie did now.

The blonde girl emerged into a small clearing, glancing upwards through the gap in the trees to see that the night sky above her was still darkening rapidly, the sun now set beyond the Scottish mountains surrounding Hogwarts and leaving a spattering of stars in it's wake. Behind her, the trees creaked and groaned. The lack of a moon had Rose worried- a lumos could only go so far and the shadows surrounding her were darkening and growing and twisting.

A noise from behind her had her spinning, falling backwards into a defensive position only to be faced with… nothing. There was just empty space.

She searched the trees, heart thumping.

"Hello…?"

A breeze blew softly, rustling the leaves and branches but there was no other movement. Out of the corner of her eyes, however, a dark mass moved towards her.

She ducked instinctively.

Nothing passed over her, and she risked a glance upwards. Nothing.

Rose backed into the middle of the clearing, circling carefully. "Harry!?" she called. "Fleur?! Where are you?"

A resounding silence met her words.

Breathing ragged, she listened for several minutes, hoping desperately to hear the sounds of either one. But there was nothing.

After a long moment, Rose stood straight, intending to leave. She was finished with this- the three of them had no hope of finding anything in this massive forest and while she had long ago accepted she may not survive this night, she had no desire to expedite the event. She had only taken a single step, however, when she froze, her heart sinking.

Because she had no idea which direction she'd come from.

As ice slivered down her spine she turned desperately, hoping to see something familiar. But each tree was the same as it's neighbour and it was already so much darker than when she'd entered the forest, so much so that everything looked different now.

Behind her, there were more noises. Slithering, whispering noises that had Rose running, headless of the direction. She tried to orientate herself as she dodged trees and branches, tried to work out where she needed to go and to see if anything looked familiar. She didn't recognise where she was running through but it wasn't unfamiliar either…

Rosalie dashed through the undergrowth, casting silent cutting curses in front of her to hasten her path as whatever it was behind her continued it's pursuit. Hoping to lose it, she changed direction randomly, confusing herself even further in the process. Finally, she saw a small rock formation and ducked behind it, collapsing against it as she gasped for breath and listened intently for the sounds of something searching for her.

There was nothing, and so she took the opportunity to slide to the ground and get her breathing back to normal. The adrenaline running through her system had her fingers trembling so badly she struggled to place her wand back in its' holster and eventually she gave up, laying it on her lap as she huddled against the chill of the night air.

A few minutes ticked past, and she eventually concluded that her heart rate was as low as it was going to get while she was out there, her breathing steadier and her fingers now capable of holding her wand steady.

"Point me, Hogwarts Castle." she whispered, watching the wand spin gently to the right by about forty degrees. "Right then."

She rose gracefully and with a cautious glance around, began to walk, treading as carefully as possible to stay quiet.

An eternity seemed to pass as she moved through the trees, adjusting her direction every so often. She wondered absently if the fighting had begun again yet- the one hour deadline Voldemort had given them must have passed but she still couldn't hear anything, unless the sounds where being muffled by the trees and leaves. At one point, Rose wondered if she hadn't accidentally entered an illusion- there seemed to be no change in density of the trees nor any difference that she could discern in the type or age despite the fact she had been walking for at least half a mile. But this thought was quickly shattered when, quite unexpectedly, she entered another clearing.

It was larger than the last one, so much so that the sky was clearly visible above her without branches marring the view. But that wasn't what had caught her eye. No, instead it was the figure standing across from her that caused her to gasp and stumble back.

When the figure didn't move, she peered closer and realised that whoever it was, he was facing away from her. And she was fairly certain it was a he.

"Hello?"

When there was no response she tentatively stepped forward, lighting her wand. "Remus?" she questioned incredulously, moving closer as she recognised his shabby jacket from the patches that had been sewn on; the red one on the back had been necessary after he had stepped between her and Harry during a duel, not realising that they were merely practising.

"Remus!" she cried, smiling in relief. "You escaped! That's wonderful! Are you okay? Where are the others?"

There was still no response. Her smile faded. "Remus?" she moved closer, keeping her distance but circling around him to see his face, holding her wand to the side so that she didn't blind him. The shadows cast by the forest made seeing him difficult and she had no choice but to step closer, unease trickling through her as she angled her wand to see him properly.

"REMUS!"


	40. Chapter 40

As Harry walked into the forest, he couldn't concentrate on anything other than Voldemort. They were so close… they couldn't fail now. They had been fighting for months, to fail at this last moment was unthinkable. On either side of him, Rose and Fleur gradually drifted away and it wasn't long before he could no longer hear them, the sounds of their footsteps fading to leave only his own. He continued walking, listening carefully for any sign that someone else was in the forest. He could actually feel the air around him becoming cooler as the sun descended, the already dark forest losing the little light available. Which wasn't overly convenient when, to his left, a shriek broke through the still air.

"Fleur?" Harry raced towards the sound, tripping more than once over a log or root. "Fleur, where are you?"

"Down 'ere!"

Harry stopped, puzzled.

"Down?" he questioned in a mutter. He continued forward gingerly, his wand clasped tightly in his hand as he edged onwards.

"'Arry, be careful!" Fleur suddenly screeched. He froze. "Look down!"

He did so, and paled. The forest floor dipped suddenly, falling away without warning into a rock-riddled trench. Harry's toe was an inch from the edge.

Gulping, he eased back and glanced down to where Fleur lay at the bottom, bleeding from a head wound with her leg twisted unnaturally beneath her. "Are you okay?"

"I lost my wand." she hissed, suppressing a cry as she shifted. "And I think I 'ave dislocated my shoulder."

Harry blinked. "And your leg?"

"I thought zat went without saying!" she glared. He held up his hands in surrender.

"Hang on, i'll try to find a way down."

"Be careful!"

Carefully, Harry walked along the embankment until he came to a small are which had a gentler slope, along with some roots that he thought he could use to step on. Carefully, he stepped onto the first one, holding onto a nearby trunk for balance as he slid his other foot along to the next. After a while, he was far enough down that he had to let go and so crouched instead, holding onto the muddy roots as he balanced. He was almost at the bottom when without warning, the ground he had just put his weight on gave way beneath his foot.

"'Arry!"

He tumbled forwards, rolling uncontrollably and bouncing off sharp rocks until as quickly as it had started it stopped, and he was lying on his back staring at the canopy of trees.

"'Arry are you okay?" Fleur cried, trying to get up but unable to move her leg.

Harry groaned, pushing himself into a seated position. "I'm fine." he called, wriggling his toes to test that theory. His ankle was jarred but no sprained, he thought to himself in relief, and while he was now covered in small cuts and bruises nothing seemed too badly damaged.

Cautiously, he levered himself to his feet and stood for a moment, checking that nothing was suddenly hurting. It wasn't, and so he made his way to Fleur, slipping his wand from his pocket and kneeling next to her.

"This might hurt a bit." he warned her, and she looked alarmed.

"What are you doing?"

"Healing spell for your leg." he explained. "But we'll still have to splint it because it will be weak."

While he was talking, he closed up the cut on her head to stem the bleeding. "No 'Arry." she refused. "You know I think you are wonderful, but I want an 'ealer to do it."

Harry swallowed thickly. "Fleur, your foot is turning blue."

There was a long pause.

"What does that mean?" she whispered.

"It means your blood flow has been compromised. The broken bone is cutting off a blood vessel somewhere." he swallowed thickly. "If it isn't fixed quickly, you will lose your foot and lower leg."

Fleur was staring at him with wide eyes. "Lose it?" she questioned, hoping she was translating wrong.

"They will have to cut it off." Harry told her flatly, heart thumping. "There isn't time to get you to a healer.- it would already be too late. I have to do this now."

"Do you know what you are doing?" Fleur asked, panicked. "Have you done this before?"

He swallowed. "Not exactly..."

"Not exactly?! What does zat mean!?"

"It means I know the theory."

Fleur was white as paper. "Ze theory? _Mon dieu..."_

"Fleur-" Harry reached out and grabbed her hand. "I need you to trust me."

She pressed her lips together, fingers trembling. "I do trust you." she whispered eventually. "But 'Arry, zis is my leg..."

"I know." he brought her hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "But we don't have a choice. I'm sorry."

Fleur gripped his fingers tightly for a brief moment, before she lay back on the ground and closed her eyes. "Just do it."

Harry took a deep breath, and before she could change her mind whispered the spell. Fleur screamed, arching off the ground as the bones in her leg shifted and ground together. Harry was quick to grab her thigh, preventing her from moving it.

"Fleur?" He questioned, panicking when she became still and unmoving. He scrambled to check her pulse, fingers slipping against her neck as he searched.

For a horrible, heart-wrenching second he couldn't find one. There was no movement beneath his fingers, no flutter of pumping blood, no sign that breath was being drawn into her lungs.

And then he felt it, a faint beat against his fingertips. He gasped in relief, pressing the back of his hand against his forehead for a moment, before reaching to slip his fingers through her for a moment. "You're alright." he muttered, taking hold of his wand and conjuring a splint for her. "You're alright, i've got you."

While she was unconscious, he carefully bound her leg, smiling faintly at the sight of the pink colour of her foot before he carefully reached out to probe her shoulder with his fingers. He winced as he felt the dislocation- he'd had one himself as a child following a small incident with Gideon, and knew how much they hurt. Carefully, he grasped her wrist and bracing her torso with his knee, yanked as hard as he could until he felt the joint slide into place. He muttered another healing spell for her shoulder before casting an ennervate on her.

Fleur moaned softly, eyes opening slowly. "You back with me?" Harry leant over so that she could see him.

"'Arry?" she questioned, then gasped at realisation hit her and shot upright. "My leg?"

"It's fine." he assured her. "You'll have to have a healer look at it, but it's straight and the right colour now."

Relief visibly washed over her, and she surged forward to press a kiss to his cheek. " _Merci, 'Arry._ " she whispered.

He blushed. "You- uh- you're welcome." he stammered. Fleur began to look on the floor around her, a frown growing. "What's wrong?"

"My wand. I dropped it when I fell..."

Understanding flashed over his face. "Allow me. _Accio Fleur's wand!_ " He caught it deftly as it flew at him, and handed it to her with a flourish. "My lady."

She giggled. " _Merci."_ She tucked it away and held out a hand to him. "'Elp me up?"

Together, they got Fleur to her feet, although she had to lean heavily on Harry. They began to slowly walk along the dip, hoping it would level out so that they could get back up. Harry was trying very hard not to think about Fleur's body pressed against his or about how soft her waist was where his hand rested or how pretty the scent of her hair was…

"Arry? Did you 'ear zat?" Fleur's voice broke his reverie and he flushed a brilliant crimson.

"I- what?"

"Did you 'ear zat?"

"I didn't hear anything." he frowned, his head tilting slightly as he listened. A few beats passed, but there was no other sound.

"I know I 'eard somezing!" Fleur exclaimed. "Zis way."

She set off so quickly that Harry almost dropped her, stumbling in the leaves for a moment before he managed to right the both of them. They hurried through the forest, searching for the source of the noise but when Harry realised that they were now in complete darkness and guided only by his wand's lumos, he drew the line.

"Fleur, there's nothing here. Let's find Rose and go."

She sighed unhappily. "Very well." she agreed. "Which way?"

Harry hesitated. "There." he gestured more confidently than he felt. Fleur didn't appear to notice and followed his lead without question. After a few minutes, Harry glanced uncertainly at her and gathered up his courage.

"Fleur… can I ask you a question?"

" _Oui?"_

"You and Bill Weasley… are the two of you… you know?" He finished awkwardly.

She let out a startled laugh. "Bill Weasley? And _moi_? Of course not! What in ze world gave you zat impression?"

"Well, I- I saw how he was looking at you and just thought..." he trailed of, blushing as she laughed harder.

" _Non 'Arry._ He is a sweet man, but I do not zink I would like to leave France and 'e would not leave 'is job. It would never work." amusement coloured her tone.

"France isn't that far away." Harry pointed out, mentally cursing himself. What was he doing?! Fleur looked at him peculiarly.

" _Non._ " she agreed. "But… I 'ave heard enough stories from you and seen enough myself to know zat I would not be 'appy living in Britain. And to leave _ma famille_ , you and Rose and _tante Emmeline…_ I could not. Not for 'im. 'Arry, why are you asking me zese zings?"

"No reason. Just curious." he answered evasively.

She was unconvinced, however. "'Arry." she stopped, which forced him to do the same. "What is zat look on your face?" she wondered, reaching up to gently touch his cheek in curiosity.

"It… it's nothing Fleur." he murmured. "Forgive me, I should not have pried."

"You were not prying." she assured him softly, still watching him carefully. His breath caught in his throat when he realised just how close they were- with her weight on one leg, she was still leaning against him with one arm wrapped around his neck, his own still securely around her waist. Her blue eyes met his green ones for a long moment, and whatever she saw in his had her gasping, eyes widening in shock.

"...'Arry-?" she began, barely audible but she was interrupted by a shriek that echoed through the forest.

"Rose?" Harry looked up in fear, recognising the voice. "Come on."

Fleur grit her teeth against the pain emanating from her leg and they rushed through the undergrowth. "Rose? Rosie?" Harry called desperately.

"Look." Fleur's voice was strained as she drew his attention through the trees, pointing out the faint light. They glanced at each other briefly before setting off in that direction without another word. The closer that they got, the more Harry was convinced it was the light from a wand that they could see.

"Rosie?" they emerged into a clearing and Harry had never been so relieved as he was when he saw his sister standing in front of him, her back to him. "Rose!"

The blonde girl didn't move, and gently Harry moved Fleur closer to a nearby tree to lean on while he went closer to his sister.

"Rosie?"

Cautiously he reached out to touch her shoulder, and this seemed to finally get her attention. She turned her head to look at him and Harry was shocked to see she was a deathly pale, tears tracking down her cheeks and her eyes wide. "Rosie?"

She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Instead, she simply raised the hand that wasn't holding her wand and pointed in front of her. Feeling trepidation trickle down his spine, Harry followed the line of her finger and started.

"Remus?"

He stepped closer, puzzled and peered at the man through the dimness. "Oh no..." he breathed. Because what he thought was the figure of Remus standing in front of him, was actually Remus hanging from a wooden post.

With a gaping wound severing his throat.

"Remus..."

The man had been secured upright to a thin post that had a notice-me-not charm on it, judging by the way Harry only saw it once he realised that it must be there. The werewolves eyes were fixed and glazed, staring lifelessly ahead of him as he dangled there, drying blood splattering his clothes and the ground around him.

A thousand things were running through Harry's mind as numbly he reached out to pull Rose into a tight embrace, but to his surprise the most overwhelming one was the immense feeling of grief. No matter what, Remus had been his friend, his father's friend and he did no deserve what had happened to him. Harry closed his eyes briefly, hoping that wherever he was now, Remus was at peace.

And then Harry stepped forward, reached his hand out and gently closed Remus's eyes.

* * *

 _ **As a side note, don't follow anything medical in this chapter- i'm not a doctor of any kind and you're liable to do yourself or someone else damage :-) thanks for reading! X**_


	41. Chapter 41

_**I'm sorry it took so long! I was ill and we're moving house in less than a week- if you've ever packed up an entire house on a schedule, you may understand! If you haven't, I really wouldn't recommend it!**_

 _ **Hope you like it! X**_

Rose thought that it couldn't get any worse than it already was. She was proven wrong, however, when they finally managed to get both Fleur and Remus back to the castle. They'd placed the former professor on a stretcher once they undid the sticking charm that held him to the post, but Fleur refused to sit on one herself.

"We are already bringing one body back. There is no need to make people think there is two." She crossed her arms obstinately and despite the danger to her leg, Rose and Harry agreed with her.

And so Rose levitated Remus in front of her while Harry continued to help Fleur hobble through the woods, assisted by her new conjured crutch. It took them a while, particularly as they had to keep readjusting their direction. Emerging from the forest, they were stunned to discover the fighting hadn't started again. The grounds were eerily silent and still, a faint mist obscuring the top of the castle and some of the more distanced details. Rosalie wasn't convinced that the mist was entirely natural.

As quickly as they could, they'd hurried across the expanse that separated them from the castle and climbed to one of the side doors. Rose entered first, careful not to knock the stretcher into anything while Fleur and Harry came in close behind her- they hadn't even made it round the first corner when a voice cut through the silence.

"Rose!" Sirius bounded down the staircase in front of them. Rose was in the middle of the corridor, positioned in such a way that her father could only see her, the rest of the scene hidden from view. "Are you alright? Where're Remus, Harry and Fleur? We saw you emerge from the forest on the map..."

Rose felt a sinking feeling hit her, a lump in her throat preventing her from answering, able only to stare at him, stricken.

"I'm here, Sirius." Harry responded quietly, coming into view with Fleur. The man beamed.

"Thank Merlin! But where's Remus?"

"Sirius..." Rose choked out. "I'm so sorry..."

Confusion visibly washed over him. "Sorry for wha-?" he cut himself off when he stepped forward, and saw the covered stretcher. "No..."

"We're sorry Sirius." Harry whispered miserably. The man was frozen, a look of dawning horror on his face.

"No..." he repeated. "NO! No, Remus! No no NO!" he stumbled forward almost blindly, reaching for the sheet with groping fingers but Rose stopped him.

"Don't." she pleaded. "You won't want to see!"

He shrugged her off roughly and yanked the sheet away, revealing the blood that lay stark against the skin of his friend, the gaping slash painfully apparent. "MOONY! Please, no, please, Moony please no-"

He sank to his knees, incoherent cries echoing piercingly loudly in the stone corridor. Rose felt tears on her own cheeks, hand trembling even as she struggled to keep the stretcher steady.

Sirius was whimpering. "Moony…" the breathed word was barely audible as he slumped over for a long minute, uninterupted in his grief. Slowly, he raised his head to view the three- Fleur and Harry both had remnants of dried blood on them, Rose looked pale and shell shocked. They were all filthy and dishevelled, the two girls had hair falling into their face- Fleur's had sections which were stiff with blood and mud. All three looked far too young.

"They'll pay for this. For all of them. We'll make them pay." Sirius swore softly, his throat raw from crying as he rose from where he'd fallen, tears still on his cheeks but his voice steady. "They'll all pay."

* * *

If Rose thought Sirius's reaction was bad, that was nothing compared to when they finally made it into the hall. Emmeline had spotted them first; she'd been drinking a potion under the watchful gaze of Madam Pomphrey, but had dropped it when they came in. It shattered loudly, drawing every eye in the room to her, and thus to where she was looking.

There had been screams and cries- everyone knew that Sirius had spotted the four on the map and gone to meet them. The presence of Remus's name raised hope that maybe the others captured and managed to escape as well. It didn't take anybody long to realise the implications of the three children standing in the doorway accompanied by a covered stretcher.

For Rose, it was Tonk's reaction that was worse. She didn't scream, didn't cry. But the colour quite literally drained out of her as she sank to the floor, unnoticed by everyone else. She went pale white, a hand coming up to cover her colourless lips while her other arm wrapped round herself.

Madam Pomphrey took charge of Remus and Fleur, and Rosalie evaded her mother and aunt to step away towards the metamorphmagus. "Tonks? Are you okay?" she questioned gently. She had become fond of the young woman over the past months at the academy, and so knelt beside her and rested her hand on her shoulder.

"He'll never know. I didn't get to tell him and now he'll never know. He's gone." She whispered, half-dazed as new tears slid down her cheeks almost unnoticed.

"Who won't know what?" Rosalie questioned in confusion.

"Remus." This was said as a sob, the woman hunching over and bowing her head. Rose slid an arm around her.

"What about him?"

Tonks looked up at her, grief etched into her face. "I'm pregnant."

Rosalie's mouth dropped open. "You're- you and Remus?"

Tonks nodded miserably. "He asked me to marry him." She whispered, fingering the ring on her left finger. "But we wanted to wait until after the war. There was never a good time, so we waited and now he's gone…"

Rosalie could do nothing but hold her as she sobbed, her eyes drifting automatically to the rows of the dead that lay so still. "I'm so sorry." she murmured. "I'm so sorry."

She wasn't sure how long she knelt there, but after a while she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She looked up to see Sirius watching her worriedly. "We need you over here." he murmured hoarsely. She nodded, glancing to Tonks.

"Come on." she encouraged, helping her up off of the floor and guiding her over to a bench. "Stay here, alright?"

She straightened, and searched the hall for Madam Pomphrey, dashing over to her when she spotted her. "Tonks is pregnant." Rose whispered to her. Her eyes widened, mouth dropping open. "It's Remus's."

Madam Pomphrey stared at her for a long moment. "Right." she said briskly. "Leave it with me. Where is she?"

Rose pointed her in the right direction and hurried over to where a large group of those who were still able to stand under their own steam (and a few who weren't) was standing gathered around a table, attempting to come up with a plan. Sirius had just finished catching them all up with what they had been working on over the last several months.

"I don't understand." admitted Ron as Rose slipped into place beside Harry. "Why the bloody hell would he want seven horcruxes?"

"Six." corrected Sirius. "Six horcruxes, seven soul pieces. Because seven is considered a powerful number, like three is."

"Oh." Ron still looked a little bemused.

"Oh no..." Rose breathed as a terrible realisation struck her. The group looked at her in confusion, Harry touching her shoulder gently.

"Rosie?"

"Seven horcruxes..." she murmured, staring at the notes on the table.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Minerva questioned.

"Ron- he said seven horcruxes." she whispered, a horrified look coming over her face.

He scowled at her, shrugging one shoulder. "So I got it wrong."

"No- no, you got it right! _Fils de putain!_ " she swore. "Seven! Not six!"

"Rose, what are you talking about?" Harry demanded, reaching out to hold her still.

She tore herself out of his grip, unable to keep from moving around. "Harry, we got it wrong!" she said urgently. "Voldemort made seven horcruxes, not six!"

"What? Rose, don't be silly. Why would he do that?" Sirius asked with a frown. "That would be eight soul pieces- that doesn't make any sense."

"But he didn't know that!" she cried. "Sirius, Voldemort didn't know that Harry's scar was a horcrux! He made it by accident, remember? He didn't know he already had six, he thought he only had five! He made Nagini, thinking she would be his sixth when in reality he had that many already!"

"Merlin's balls!" Hermione realised what she was saying first, with the rest of the group not far behind.

"We only destroyed six." Minerva closed her eyes briefly as the realisation hit her. "We have another left."

Daphne sat down on a nearby seat with a thump. "Voldemort isn't mortal."

"Shit." Sirius muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"Alright… alright, let's think about this." Hermione tied her hair back and began to pour over the notes. "What else could he have used?"

"Hermione, it doesn't matter." Harry said morosely. "We've lost. It's over."

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" she put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "What kind of attitude is that? This isn't over yet!"

He slumped into a chair, looking up her tiredly. "We have no idea what the horcrux is, where it is or even how long it's been there. It could be anything, hidden anywhere. We have no chance of finding it before Voldemort's army gets here."

"And if we don't try, then Voldemort has already won!"

There was a long silence, everyone in the hall by now listening to the conversation, even if they didn't fully understand it.

"She's right." Rosalie said quietly. "If we give up, Voldemort will win by default. All of this, all this fighting and death will have been for nothing. He will be victorious. And that… that is not an option. It cannot be an option, Harry." she gripped his wrist gently. "We have been preparing for this for so long. Our whole lives have been spent training to fight him. We cannot give up now, not when we are so close."

"But it's a hopeless situation Rosie." he turned his hand over to link their fingers.

"No it isn't." Luna objected suddenly, all attention turning to her. "Hopeless implies that there is no chance whatsoever. But that isn't true- there is a chance, especially if we all work together."

"She's right mate." Ron agreed. "You have over a hundred people here ready to help you."

"Just tell us what you need." Susan said. Harry looked up at them, and at the dozens of others that stood waiting expectantly. He pressed his lips together, and nodded.

"We need to work out what he could have used and where he hid it."

That set off a chain reaction, as everyone began to gather around the table and talk amongst themselves in an effort to work it out. Minerva waved her wand and in mid-air, facts about Voldemort's previous objects and hiding places appeared, hovering there for everyone to see.

"They're all personal to him." Cho Chang observed. "He doesn't just pick random objects or places."

"So it stands to reason that he would choose things and places like that again." agreed another Ravenclaw that Harry didn't know.

"What's going on?" Harry didn't glance around as Dumbledore appeared, looking surprised at the chaos he found. Minerva did however, and placed a hand on her hip.

"Albus. Perfect, you might help with this." her tone brokered no arguments as he came forward to join her.

"With what, exactly?" he questioned.

"There's another horcrux, one we didn't know about." Emmeline explained. "We need to work out what it could be and where he might have hidden it."

Dumbledore inclined his head, pressing his fingertips together. "I see."

Something in his tone made Rosalie glance up, studying him with a frown. "Merlin's beard..." she muttered. "You already knew."

"What?" Harry looked up.

"Look at him. He already knew." she insisted. "He isn't surprised at all!"

"My dear girl-" Dumbledore began but she cut him off angrily.

"I'm not your anything! How could you not have even mentioned the possibility?"

Emmeline let out a humourless laugh. "Because that's his style, isn't it Dumbledore? Tell no one any more than you have to, then swoop in and save the day!"

"Now Emmeline-"

"Albus, do you know where and what it is?" Minerva demanded. When he hesitated, she hissed at him much like a cat would. "Abus!"

"No." he admitted.

Sirius ran his hands through his hair. "We could have found and destroyed it months ago if we'd known! This is what comes of keeping secrets, Albus! Haven't you learnt your lesson yet? How could you be so oblivious?!"

His voice rose to a shout, leaving an eerie silence behind once it had faded away. It was that silence that allowed for Hermione's quiet voice to be heard by all.

"You've damned us all, professor."

"Miss Granger-"

"She's right." Parvati Patil was red-eyed and had a desolate look on her face. "How many people might still be alive if you had told them? How many might have been saved?"

"Not to mention that Voldemort's army could attack at any moment. More of us will die. All of us could have, if Rosalie hadn't realised in time." Daphne continued. Blaise nodded his agreement.

"You would have let all of us die, just so you could be seen as the hero."

Dumbledore spluttered slightly, but was unable to defend himself as he stared around at the crowd of people who were gazing at him so accusatorialy. Those same people had once thought him the second coming of Merlin, the most powerful wizard alive and it was a harsh blow to realise that that carefully cultivated reputation was now in ruins.

"I-I-"

"Make it right, professor." Harry said suddenly.

Emmeline raised an eyebrow at him. "Harry?"

"Make it right." he repeated. "You're a self-centered, narcissistic idiot but I don't think you're cruel or demented. Even you agree that Voldemort must be stopped. So help us. Tell us what you know- you must have suspicions or theories."

Every eye in the room was fixed on the old headmaster.

"I… I suspect he used another item of the founders." he said eventually.

"Like what?" asked Ginny.

"I don't know."

"Well that's helpful." muttered Rose.

"Maybe something from the chamber?" suggested Hermione. "You said that there were all sorts of things down there..."

"Dozens of students went through those rooms today, none of them saw anything out of the ordinary." Susan pointed out.

"They weren't really looking though..."

Emmeline ended the argument before it could get started. "Hermione, go with Professor Slughorn and Ginny and search the chamber. Send a patronus if you need more help."

The three dashed off, Ginny glaring at the unwilling professor to get him to move while everyone else returned to pouring over the notes.

"Could he have hidden another in Gringotts?" Amelia Bones suggested. She was battered and bruised, her arm secured to her body to prevent her from moving it. Sirius shook his head.

"The goblins checked. There were no more."

"I hate to state the obvious..." said Daphne slowly. "But is it possible he hid it here? In the castle?"

"In the castle?" Minerva repeated. "I don't see how he could have- the possibility of someone finding it…"

"If he hid it somewhere it wouldn't be found. It is a big place..."

Harry was tapping his fingers absently. "It does make sense. Sirius, you said that Tom Riddle applied to be a teacher here, right? And wanted to stay over for summers."

"That's right..."

"So he was comfortable here. He felt at home." Rose finished his thought.

"Okay… if you were a dark lord wanting to hide a piece of your soul in the castle, where would you put it?" Sirius questioned. There was a resounding lack of response. "Brilliant."

Millicent Bulstrode mumbled something under her breath.

"What was that?" Minerva questioned.

"The dungeons." she repeated quietly. "If it were me, i'd hide it in the dungeons."

"She's right." Blaise sounded surprised. "There are dozens of rooms that are blocked off. It's the perfect hiding place."

"Alright, volunteers to go search?" A few people put their hands up, including Millicent and Blaise and so Sirius sent them off.

"This is going to take too long." Harry murmured. "We can't search the whole castle..."

"I'd hide it in Dumbledore's office." Fred announced. Everyone stared.

"I beg your pardon?" the man in question looked a little stunned.

"Think about it. Who would look for it in the office of the leader of the light? It's well hidden, it would certainly be easy enough to hide something amongst everything you have in there and it would be an excellent way for him to stick his middle finger up at you."

"FRED WEASLEY." Molly glared at him but he just shrugged unrepentantly.

Minerva suppressed a smirk. "I suggest, Albus, that you go and begin to search there. Take George and Fred with you."

The three departed. Neville was staring at the notes, a curious expression on his face. "The sword of Gryffindor is a founder's item, but I don't think Voldemort could have gotten his hands on it..."

"He couldn't have." Harry agreed. "And besides, it was coated in basilisks blood which is as venomous as the fangs."

Luna shot upright from where she'd been lying a bench. "The diadem!"

"Dia- what?" Ron questioned.

"Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem!" She looked excited. "Daddy's been trying to replicate it..."

"One problem with that- it's _lost._ " scoffed Michael Corner. "Nobody's seen it in centuries."

Ron looked lost. "What's a diadem?"

"It's similar to a tiara." Minerva explained, looking thoughtful. "If Voldemort had been able to find it, it's exactly the kind of thing he would want to use."

"There's a model of it in our common room, on a statue or Rowena Ravenclaw." Cho suggested.

Rose's head shot up. "Are you sure it's a model?"

"What?"

"Are you sure it's only a model?"

She blinked uncertainly. "It's made of marble."

"It could be covered, or painted, or had a spell on it." Rose pointed out. "Hiding it in plain sight would be brilliant."

"Miss Chang, would you be so kind as to go and check?" Minerva questioned.

"One moment, Miss Chang, I'll accompany you." Professor Flitwick jumped from the bench he was standing on and the two hurried out, just as a loud bang echoed from outside. Everyone looked up, and a grim look came over Harry's face.

"It's starting again. We need to hurry."

"How are we going to search an entire castle in a matter of minutes?" stressed Emmeline, pale and drawn.

Ron looked thunderstruck. "Bloody hell! I might know..."

"RONALD!" Mrs Weasley snapped.

"What is it, Mr Weasley?" Minerva asked urgently.

"The house elves! There are hundreds of them- they could help search!"

Harry dashed over to him and hugged him tightly. "Ron, I think I might love you." he grinned weakly. "Dobby!"

"Master Harry Potter called?" The small elf popped into view, and Harry wasted no time in explaining what they were looking for. Rose nibbled her lip as Dobby nodded along seriously before vanishing from view to inform the other elves.

"If we pull this off, it will be a miracle." She muttered.

"Have a little faith, dear." Emmeline stroked a hand over her hair, leaning heavily against the table.

Rose frowned worriedly, reaching out a hand to steady her. " _Maman_ , are you alright?"

"I'm fine sweetheart, just a little dizzy." she smiled faintly at her daughter, ignoring the fact that her image was swimming in front of her.

" _Maman?_ " she heard Rose question again but it seemed to come through a tunnel, barely audible as darkness attacked the edge of her vision, the vague vision of Rose's worried face greying rapidly. There was a brief sensation of falling, and she thought somebody may have shouted but the darkness overtook her before she felt herself hit the floor.


	42. Chapter 42

**_Hi! So the good news it I've moved house! The bad news is i'm still living in a sea of boxes, so it's unlikely updates will be as usual. I will try my best, however! Thanks for reading! X_**

Rosalie sat by her mother's side, watching the rise and fall of her body with each breath. Around her, the chaos of the hall had calmed somewhat- the injured had been tended to and the emotions were no longer as raw as they had been in the immediate aftermath of the fighting.

What wasn't clear, however, was why Voldemort's forces hadn't attacked again. Rose couldn't quite bring herself to care- her mother had deteriorated rapidly and Madam Pomphrey was at a loss on how to help her. Behind her, Harry, Sirius and Minerva were arguing fervently about what to do- Harry wanted to take Emmeline to Paris but Minerva wished to wait until Snape had examined her, while Sirius was caught between them.

As they argued, they were paying little attention to Rose. The blonde quickly glanced around, searching for someone powerful enough but willing to keep a secret.

"Daphne!" she hissed, waving the girl over. She, Hermione and Slughorn had returned without success, reporting that the chamber was filled with notebooks and reference guides but there had been little dark magic down there. The blonde looked at her curiously.

"How's your mum?"

"Not good. Will you help me?"

She looked baffled. "What can I do?"

"This." Rose handed her a scrap of paper. "Will you do it?"

Daphne frowned. "I don't understand. What is it?"

"It will help _Maman_ , but someone else has to do it. Please Daphne." Rose begged. She hesitated for a long moment, but then nodded.

"Okay." she withdrew her wand while Rose shifted, gripping the sides of her seat.

"Don't over power it." she warned. "Low to medium, or you'll end up killing the both of us."

Daphne blanched, but carefully began to read the spell anyway. A faint white light crept from her wand into Emmeline, circling her heart before rapidly growing to encompass her completely for a brief moment. Without warning, it lanced into Rose and she arched, gasping, knuckles turning white as her grip tightened. And then, as quickly as it began it finished and Rose sagged backwards, gasping.

"Was that supposed to happen?!" Daphne looked terrified, pale and wide-eyed. Rosalie nodded, glancing nervously over to where her family was still arguing, amazingly not noticing that anything had happened, albeit she was getting some interested looks from others in the hall.

"Perfectly normal." she assured her breathlessly. "Thank you Daphne."

"Is it helping?"

Rose looked over to her mother, smiling happily when she saw the faint colour in her cheeks and the relaxed position she was in. "Yes, I think it is." she murmured, interlacing her fingers with Emmeline's. She didn't notice the faint smile Daphne gave her as she squeezed her shoulder gently and wandered away to give them some privacy.

Rose stayed nestled beside her mother for a while, vaguely aware of the rest of hall murmuring amongst themselves but not paying them much attention as she fought to keep her magic from rebelling against the new bond. She looked up, however, when the yelling began.

At the entrance to the hall, Snape had just walked in. When noticed, many held him at wand-point, a few even firing spells which were easily deflected by the glaring potions master. Minerva hurried over.

"Enough! He's on our side!" she snapped. Ron Weasley scowled.

"He's a death eater!"

"He's a spy working for _us_!" Minerva retorted, grabbing Snape's arm and pulling him with her. By now, Rose noted that the group who had gone to search the dungeon had returned empty handed, as had Cho and Professor Flitwick.

"Severus? What's happened?" Sirius questioned as the two approached the table they were gathered at.

"The dark lord intends to attack again at Midnight. He truly thought that Potter would meet him in the forest- it threw him when he did not."

"What about the hostages?" Minerva questioned.

"They're all fine, apart from the wolf. The dark lord took him into the forest and I have not seen him since."

"He's dead." Harry said quietly. Snape looked unsurprised.

"I see."

Rose knew what was going to happen before it did. Sirius lunged at the other man, infuriated by the lack of care he was showing. Rose rushed to grab him before he made contact, hauling him away.

"Sirius, stop!"

Harry grabbed his other arm as Snape sneered.

"How far have you fallen, Black, that you do not even use your wand any more?"

"ENOUGH!" Rose glared at them both. "There's a war on! A homicidal maniac is trying to take over the world! There are dozens of people who have lost their lives fighting him lying metres away from you! Their families are watching you right now! And all you can do is act out some schoolboy rivalry as if you aren't both fully-grown adults almost two decades later! For the love of Merlin!"

Both men stared at each other silently.

"Severus, explain how the hostages are being kept." Minerva broke the silence, staring at the man expectantly.

"They are in a cage, kept in the middle of the gathered forces." he said eventually. "Fenrir in particular was taking great delight in tormenting them, but the dark lord has ordered that they not be killed yet."

"Yet?" Hermione questioned in alarm. He inclined his head.

"I believe he is intending to make an example out of them. He's… angry, over the death of Bellatrix."

"She isn't dead."

Harry and Rose looked round at Neville, surprised.

"She isn't?"

He shook his head. "Killing her would make me as bad as her."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Then what did you do?"

"I wiped her mind. Completely. For all intents and purposes, Bellatrix Lestrange no longer exists." he raised his head defiantly, daring them to contradict his decision. Instead, Rose and Harry looked approving, as did most of the adults.

"Fairly apt punishment." Harry clapped him on the back and turned towards the others. "So what do we do?"

Minerva blew out a breath. "How long until midnight?"

"A little over an hour." Neville answered.

"And we still need to find the snake. Other than brief glimpses, no one's seen it." Rose scowled.

"Alright… Neville, go with Rose and Harry. Concentrate on that snake. We have the elves searching for the diadem, and we'll work on saving the hostages before they're harmed." Sirius organised, waving Kinglsey and several other Order members over.

"Professor Snape?" Harry caught his attention. _"Maman_ collapsed earlier. Would you mind-?"

"Where is she?" he asked instantly. Rose winced, anticipating the fallout once he realised what she'd had Daphne do. Subtly, she sidled away through the people but the crowd meant she hadn't gotten very far when she heard his voice ring out.

"ROSALIE VANCE!"

She cringed. "Yes Professor?" she tried her best to look innocent.

"What did you do?" he demanded, unyielding. She sighed.

"It was the best way to stop her deteriorating further!" she crossed her arms defiantly.

"You could have been killed!" he snapped, and she saw realisation crash over the faces of Harry, Minerva and Sirius. "Who did the spell?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw Daphne look alarmed.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes!"

"They have nothing to do with this!"

"They could have killed you both!"

"They didn't."

"That is not the point!"

"It's entirely the point! Could haves and might haves make no difference to anything. Can you help _Maman_ or not?" just as she said that, she felt a lurch as the bond between her and Emmeline was abruptly broken. "Professor!" she protested angrily.

"Experimental treatments are one thing, Miss Vance, a treatment which we know will eventually harm you is quite another." he glared at her.

"It only harmed me when we increased the flow! It was low powered this time!"

"And so may simply harm you over a longer period of time instead. No. Your family would never permit it."

"It isn't their decision, it's mine!"

"Not while you're underage, it's not." Minerva interjected grimly.

"The point is moot. I will not perform the spell and no one else in here will." he glared around at the people watching to make his point clear. "I need to check something. I will be back."

He swept out, and scowling furiously Rosalie returned to her mother's side. Neville and Harry were murmuring together, trying to come up with a plan to kill Nagini but Rose couldn't bring herself to join in. Rose sat by where her mother lay, absently watching the hustle and bustle of the hall around her as they prepared to fight again. Emmeline was frighteningly still, her only movement the slight rise-and-fall of her body as she breathed.

Movement from behind her had her looking up, bolting upright when she saw Snape standing in front of her. "Have you-?" she began but he cut her off.

"I know nothing. I merely came to run more tests on her. Sit down."

She did so, watching wearily as he checked Emmeline's vitals. "Professor… do you really not know how to fix her?"

"No, I do not." he answered shortly. She bit her lip and looked down at her hands.

To the far of the hall, a group of students sat close together, whispering amongst themselves. They'd been paying little heed to the hall previously- now they glared at Snape and muttered under their breaths. Snape followed Rose's gaze to them and smiled humourlessly.

"Tell me brat, do you think the same as them? Do you think me a bad person?" he asked conversationally as he continued his work.

"I don't think you're bad, professor."

"No?"

"No." she met his gaze without flinching. "I just don't think you're good either."

He snorted. "Maybe there's hope for you yet."

"Is that how you see yourself?" she questioned. "As bad?"

"Miss Vance, if I spent my time pondering the morality of what it is I do, I would have very little of my day left for actual work."

"And you might have to actually face what it is you've become." she muttered, half to herself.

Snape raised an eyebrow, pausing in his wand movements to stare at her. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that just because you are not necessarily a terrible person, does not mean you do not and have not done bad things. It's simply that the action of doing those things doesn't make you a bad person." she shrugged.

"You think I do bad things but am not necessarily bad?" he clarified with no small amount of bemusement.

"Precisely."

He crossed his arms. "And you are so sure of yourself, aren't you?"

She held her head up defiantly. "In this, yes."

"And why is that, Miss Vance? What makes you so convinced the devil himself wouldn't welcome me to his domain?" his voice whispered, low and dangerous. Rose wasn't perturbed, however.

"Because you wouldn't be here, helping my mother and checking on her health if you were truly so bad." she shrugged simply. "Professor… in the world right now there are serial killers murdering innocents and rapists walking free from justice. There are people raping and abusing children and other people starting wars simply to line their pockets. There are people who hate and hurt others because of how they look or who they love and how they choose to live and other people ordering genocide and mass murder. Those people… they're evil. They commit unforgivable sins and they don't care. They hurt other people, other innocents for no reason other than they enjoy it.

"But you, professor… you hurt other people but you don't do it for the sake of hurting them. Your reasons are selfish and fairly egotistical, but they're not solely for hurting others. They're not evil… _you're_ not evil. You're just not particularly good either. The things that you've done… they're horrid and sometimes unforgivable but the reasons that you did them for can't be entirely dismissed either. The way you treated Harry at first… there is no excuse for that, you're just petty and childish but acting favourably towards your Slytherins is understandable when you look at how they're treated by the rest of the school. Even by some of the teachers. Being so terrible to a child that you are their greatest fear is horrific and there is no excuse for it, but cultivating an image which would be favourable when the homicidal maniac you're bound to returned is understandable." her voice was getting faster as she spoke, hands gesturing in her lap. "Acting so badly to students that your reputation precedes you even outside the school is shameful but the reasons you act that way- however horrendously- aren't entirely unjustified. There is no right and wrong here- you can't be exonerated but neither can you be completely condemned."

Snape was staring at her.

"Do you know, Miss Vance, I believe I may have underestimated you." he murmured, looking surprised.

She smiled slightly. "Most people do. But all that said, professor- you are not a nice person and the way you act… after all this is over there won't be a reason for it, and you won't be protected any more."

He raised an eyebrow. "You think i'm protected?"

"You think you aren't?" she looked amused. "There's a reason the complaints against you haven't been made public. A similar reason to why you weren't hexed by several dozen people when you entered this hall half-an-hour ago."

She walked away, leaving him stunned as she crossed to Minerva's side. She wrapped an arm around her, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"I'm proud of you." the older witch whispered. Rose leant against her.

"Why?"

"Severus is put in a difficult position. His actions are often reprehensible, but he does have his reasons for behaving that way. Not many people see that, even if they know the truth about him."

"He's not a good person." Rose murmured.

"No." Minerva agreed. "But he's not as bad as people think, either."

* * *

It was less than half an hour alter that Rose, Harry and Neville found themselves sneaking through through the grounds of the castle. They had a plan- albeit a basic one- to creep behind the forces of Voldemort in order to ambush and kill the snake. They hoped that no one would be expecting the threats to come from behind them.

Meanwhile, a small rescue party led by Sirius was attempting to rescue the hostages. Snape had needed to return before his absence was noted- it was decided that the small group would be disillusioned and follow him, hopefully straight to where the cage was.

But Rose couldn't think about that. Her one concern was to be Nagini, she reminded herself as she paused for a moment to catch her breath. Climbing through the Scottish mountains was not something she'd planned on doing today, she thought ruefully as she exchanged a commiserating look with a miserable Neville. Especially not in the pitch black when it was too dangerous to light their way, their only light that from the full moon overhead.

In front of her, Harry was carefully testing the ground with his foot, cautiously feeling his way along while his companions carefully followed in his wake, taking care to tread where he had and to keep a hold of each other so as not to lose track anyone in the darkness. They'd passed the wards about ten minutes before, the slight tingle the only thing to alert them that they had. Now, at the end of the rugged path they were on, they had to climb carefully down a steep slope- too far to the left and they would be in full view of the makeshift camp Voldemort was in, should anyone care to look up. Too far to the right and a rock formation would prevent them from re-entering the wards. It was a precarious balancing act and if not for the fact that Rose had Neville and Harry to levitate her if she fell, she didn't think she would dare attempt it at all.

While the three children began their descent, Sirius was treading as silently as possible as he followed Snape. He knew that behind him, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minerva and Flitwick were also following, disillusioned and with smell and sound-dampening spells cast on them as well. Tonks had kicked up a fuss about not being allowed to go and do her job- Poppy Pomphrey hadn't even considered it, threatening to spell her to sleep until it was all over if she didn't sit down and think of the baby she was carrying. There had been outcry from the students as well- many of them wished to help their friends and the remaining Weasleys had almost staged a full-out mutiny, but Minerva had been firm. They needed a line of defence at the castle, and she would not see another student needlessly put in danger. It was already grating on her to have the three that they did wandering around the grounds.

Mr and Mrs Weasley had pushed to be allowed to come as well, but Sirius refused. While he understood their fear for their daughter after already losing a son, the pair would be more of a hindrance than a help in this, especially since Mrs Weasley had yet to stop crying.

A sinking feeling over took them all as they saw the group of people up ahead, illuminated by small fires. One misstep, and they would be found out. In a cage to the left, they saw a pack of snarling werewolves, the largest with drool dripping from his jaws as he howled. Sirius shuddered as Fenrir Greyback made his presence know, the full moon causing the saliva to glisten.

The deeper into the camp they got, the more crowded it was. The four were having a hard time avoiding being knocked into, and more than once Sirius thought he'd lost sight of Snape. But he'd always managed to catch up, and just had to hope the others had as well.

The uneasy feeling worsened when Sirius began to hear sobbing and shrieks. They ducked around a group of jeering death eaters, and he realised the feeling was entirely justified. A pretty young blonde girl, who he guessed was in maybe her fifth year was being levitated in the air. Her uniform was ripped, barely hanging on her and doing nothing to cover her. Her torn bra lay discarded on the floor and was currently being fought over by two men Sirius didn't recognise and from the sounds of it, the wizard holding her in his spell was preparing to strip her completely. The girl had her jaw clenched, tears streaking down her face but stubbornly refusing to give them the satisfaction of her hearing her scream or beg.

A choked sound from behind him informed him that Minerva had least had managed to keep up. "That's Katerina Ivanov." she whispered. Sirius thought that sight was bad enough, but his stomach dropped out completely when, on the far right side of the circle made by the crowd, he saw the magical cage holding the rest of the prisoners. Professor Sprout was bruised and bloodied, holding tightly to two young boys who had their faces buried in her shoulder. In front of her, Ginny Weasley was propping another girl upright. Sirius couldn't see her face but she was older, and the white top she had on stained with blood.

The most gut-wrenching sight of all was slightly in front of the cage though. Another young girl lay twisted savagely on the ground, blonde hair coloured red with blood. Sirius didn't even have to look at her glazed eyes to know she was dead.

"Fay..."

Flitwick's heartbroken voice came from close beside him. Sirius swallowed thickly.

"We need a distraction." he whispered, the cries of the crowd covering the quiet conversation.

"Allow me." that was Kingsley. Snape was on the far side of the group where Voldemort was sat. Sirius wasn't quite sure how he hadn't seen him immediately; he was pale and unnatural, sat on a chair as he passively observed the 'entertainment'. Snape was knelt in front of him, talking so softly that Sirius wouldn't have know if he hadn't seen the slight movement of his mouth.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the makeshift camp. It only took seconds for the vast majority of death eaters to sprint in the direction it had come from, and even Voldemort had risen from his chair.

"I don't see the snake." Minerva murmured, voice choked.

"Neither do I. Let's hope it's just getting a snack or something." he said grimly. Another explosion from a slightly different direction had the few remaining death eaters rushing away, Katerina being carelessly thrown into the cage before the wizard left. Voldemort was slower, eyes narrowing even further as he cast a suspicious gaze around the campsite. But there was still a single, masked wizard left to guard their prisoners and so satisfied, he went to join in the confrontation of the supposed intruders, hoping that Potter would be there.

Sirius raised his wand at the sole man left, intent on taking him out but before he could fire a spell Kingsley's voice rang out. "It's me!"

He ripped of mask to reveal himself, and Professor Sprout gasped. As quickly as they could, Minerva and the others disillusioned themselves and rushed to the cage.

"Professors!" Ginny looked at them in relief from where she was knelt in front of Katerina, shielding her.

"We need to hurry." Sirius urged. Without missing a beat, Flitwick began to obliterate the cage while Minerva conjured a quick dress for Katerina.

"Miss Ivanov." she passed it through the bars, wincing as they stung her. Once the girl had yanked the dress on, murmuring a grateful thanks Sprout released the two boys. First and second years, the brothers had tear tracks on their cheeks as they stared silently up at their rescuers, still clinging to their head-of house.

"Filius, quickly!" Minerva glanced around anxiously. As gently as he could, Sirius had slipped his arms around Fay and lifted her. Ginny was watching with a stricken look.

"I tried. I tried to save her but the more I did the more they hurt her… We couldn't do anything, we couldn't get to her. She was so scared-" she let out a sob.

"Miss Weasley, this isn't your fault." Minerva knelt down near to her. "There was nothing you could have done."

As she spoke, the bars vanished. "Thank Merlin." Kinglsey muttered as he strode forward and lifted an unconscious Katie into his arms.

"Can you all walk?" Minerva asked, helping Ginny and Katerina to stand. The youngest boy shook his head, and it was now that Minerva saw his ankle was a bloody mess. "Wha-?"

"They stepped on it." Pomona's voice was low and angry, and Minerva thought she and Filius were probably the only ones who could hear the grief and guilt in her tone.

"Right. Mr Garcia, help your brother stand on his good leg." together, they manoeuvred the smaller boy upright. "Okay. Tomas, i'm going to carry you on my back. It's going to hurt, i'm sorry."

He swallowed, but nodded. Minerva smiled reassuringly at him.

"Minerva..." Sirius was looking increasingly nervous, eyes flitting towards where he could hear shouts and cries.

"I know. Gabriel, try and help him. Tomas, you'll need to jump slightly."

She crouched, and somehow managed to get the boy balancing precariously, holding him awkwardly as she stood straight, wobbling a little. He was slipping, she could already feel it. "Sorry..." she muttered in advance as she shifted him higher. He yelped as his foot was jostled.

They all froze. There shouts were getting louder and louder as each minute passed and without thinking Minerva cast a sticking charm, hoping it would prevent him from slipping further.

"Wrap your arms and legs around me, and don't let go." she instructed. Sirius and Kingsley had already disillusioned themselves and their charges; Pomona took Gabriel and Katerina and did the same, making sure they were all holding hands as Filius took Ginny's and the two vanished. Minerva quickly performed her own spell and they began the long walk out. The plan was to exit through the back, leaving the wards and hopefully portkeying into the Chamber of Secrets to save them dragging the injured children through highlands.

Minerva prayed to anyone who was listening that it would work.


	43. Chapter 43

Rose was sat at the bottom of the slope, wincing as Harry prodded her ankle. "I think it's just sprained." he announced. She scowled.

"I could have told you that."

With a flick of his wand, the ankle was clean and bound and Rose levered herself to her feet. "Well this makes things harder." she commented in frustration as used Harry to balance her weight.

"Can you walk at all?" asked Neville anxiously. Rose attempted it, wincing.

"Yes, but I don't know what state i'll be in when we get back."

Harry sighed. "You just had to fall down that cliff."

"It wasn't exactly intentional." Rose huffed, while Neville looked curious.

"Is it a cliff if it isn't by the sea?"

The siblings stared at him.

"Not the time, mate." Harry said eventually. Neville looked sheepish.

Rose shifted. "Regardless, we need to move."

Slowly, they made their way around the back of the camp, Rosalie leaning on Neville. Silently, they disillusioned each other and began to search for the snake. Hampered by Rose's ankle, this quickly became more difficult than they'd originally planned.

They crept through the camp, Harry holding onto Rose so they didn't all lose each other.

"Look!"

Cautiously, they inched forward, until through a gap in the crowds they could see the unnatural paleness of Voldemort.

"I don't see Nagini..." Neville muttered.

"Put me on your shoulders, quick." Rose urged her brother.

Neville blinked, head shooting up from where he was crouched. "Are you mad?"

"We're invisible, remember? It's the quickest way."

Neville couldn't see either of them, but he heard rustling and movement, and then a sharp intake of breath. "Ouch!" Rose hissed through her teeth.

"What happened?"

Harry's voice came from just in front of him as he explained. "She had to use her foot to push up."

"Turn to the left a bit." Rosalie instructed. Neville assumed he'd done so, because there was silence for a few moments.

"He doesn't have the snake with him." she said eventually, and there was a thump as she jumped down. But she'd forgotten her foot couldn't take the strain, and fell with a cry.

The three froze.

"Did you 'ear tha'?" a voice sounded from their left, muffled footsteps getting closer.

" _Merde._ " Harry muttered. "Rosie, where are you?"

"Down here!"

There was more rustling. "Neville, head between the fire and the oak tree!" Harry hissed. Neville did as he said, just able to make out the sound of footsteps in front of him as he dashed into the shadows.

"Harry, Rose?" he questioned breathlessly.

"We're here." Rose's voice came from somewhere around him, but he couldn't quite figure out where. "Can you put your hand on the end of that overhanging branch?"

As this wasn't the strangest request he'd ever had from her, he did as asked, And jumped three foot in the air when he felt a warm hand under where he placed his.

"Got him!" Rose announced as Neville tried to get his heartbeat back under control. She turned her hand over to grab onto his. "Now what?"

Neville bit his lip anxiously. "We're running out of time..."

"I know! We have to find the snake!" Harry snapped irritably.

Rose frowned, not that anyone could see her. "Boys, enough. Now think- where would you keep a piece of your soul?"

There was a long pause as they all considered.

"Somewhere close, where I would always know it was safe." Neville answered eventually.

"Which means it's probably not out hunting. It would be too much of a risk." Harry said thoughtfully. "But it clearly wasn't with him then..."

"With a trusted death eater?" Rose suggested. Harry made a face.

"After they lost two of them? Would he risk that?"

"This is ridiculous!" Rose sighed, frowning. "We have no idea what we're doing!"

Neville bit his lip. "We could search the camp."

"You'll have to leave me here." Rose tried her best to hide the nervousness that caused. "I won't be able to walk."

"That's not happening." Harry refused flatly.

"Why can't you just cast a healing spell?" Neville questioned. There was a silence. "Harry, Rose?"

Rose sighed. "There was… an incident."

"What incident?"

"It's just not possible Neville." Harry snapped. "I'm going to scout over there." Neville started in surprise, surprise growing when he heard rustling, and then the sound of retreating footsteps.

Rosalie sighed. "Ignore him, Neville." she squeezed his hand gently. "He still feels guilty about it..."

"What happened?" he asked gently. Though her couldn't see, Rose was pressing her lips together.

"When we were younger, we used to play in the woods a lot, usually without supervision. It was safe- the wards extended for miles further than we could have ever gone and if there was a problem we had to only call for Missy."

Absently, Neville was rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.

"There was a tree-house, I think _Oncle Jean_ built it as a joint Christmas present the first Christmas Harry spent with us. We used to spend hours there. This one day, we were out there and we decided to practise fighting each other. We weren't supposed to- it was one of the biggest rules Gideon had, especially at the level we were at but we thought we'd be fine. I think we thought we were invincible." she smiled ruefully. "But of course, we weren't. We got out of control… I got a hit in, Harry got angry, retaliated so I retaliated and it sort of escalated."

"How old were you?"

She counted back. "Seven and nine, maybe? Anyway, martial arts fell to the wayside and we were just brawling. Harry was bigger than me, but I was faster and we ended up fairly evenly matched. But Harry got a lucky kick in- I went flying over the side of the tree-house and hit the ground." she winced at the memory, while Neville was horrified.

"Were you alright?"

"Mostly- I knew how to fall safely from gymnastics but landed on a fallen log, which snapped my thigh bone and Harry's kick cracked two ribs."

Neville grimaced.

"Harry was horrified, and very guilty. He rushed down to me, quickly realised how injured I was and tried to use the healing spells _Maman_ had taught us not long before. He healed my ribs fine, but he wasn't quite as successful with my leg. Instead of fixing it how it should have been, he just set it in place while it was still broken. Not really his fault, he was nine."

Neville was looking amazed. "What happened?"

"The spell that sets the bone caused it to shift slightly, and it nicked my artery. It started bleeding into my leg… I passed out from the pain and woke up in the hospital. Harry had called Missy in a panic and she's apparated us both there. _Maman_ was furious- if the bone had shifted a few centimetres more it would have severed my artery completely and Missy might not have gotten me there in time. As it was I was in hospital for almost week. It was the first time _Maman_ was truly angry at us both, but I think Harry got the worse of it- he's always felt terrible about it and has never really stopped feeling guilty. He only performs healing spells when there's no other choice and truthfully, I do too."

"I could have killed you."

Neither Neville or Rose had heard Harry return.

"And I could have stopped you." she replied calmly. She didn't have to see her brother to know he was grinding his teeth, and reached out, groping for his hand and linking their fingers when she found it.

"Let's get back to the snake." Harry said eventually. "I couldn't see it anywhere, so Voldemort must have it hidden."

"Alright- where do we search next?"

"We need to go deeper into the camp- we've almost left it now."

Rose sighed. "This is hopeless- it's like searching for a needle in a haystack only it's worse because the needle may be invisible or disguised as a piece of hay!"

"Um, guys?"

"I know Rosie, but we don't have a choice!"

"Guys?"

"We should have just bombed him." Rose muttered. "It would have saved a lot of time."

"Oh, because that's practical."

"Guys!"

"WHAT?" Harry and Rose snapped at the same time. They both turned towards where they knew he was standing, and paled. Because in front of them, head raised, the very object of their discussion.

"Oh.." Rose breathed, tightening her grip on both the boys.

"It can't see us, can it…?" Neville whispered.

"No, the spells are still in place." Harry swallowed. "But it can certainly smell us."

"Ah..."

Harry began to back away, drawing Rose and therefore Neville with him. Nagini hissed, and they all froze. Carefully, Rose released Neville's hand and flicked her wrist so that her wand fell into her hand. The snake rose up higher.

"Rose, where did you go?" Neville sounded panicked.

"Its okay, Nev, we're right here." Rose assured him. Harry was stuck- he had one arm wrapped around Rose, keeping her upright as she struggled to put her sprained ankle even to the floor. Just as she was about to fire a curse, the ground shook as a ferocious explosion sounded.

"What the-?" Harry stumbled, barely catching Rose before she fell on her ankle.

"That wasn't part of the plan!" Rose exclaimed. Nagini was hissing wildly, low to the ground as she came towards them. " _Merde!_ "

Nagini struck at the air where Neville had been standing seconds before; Rose had wrenched him back, gasping as she saw the massive creature come towards them.

"Avada Kedavra!" she cried. Green shot from her wand just as another explosion sounded. There was shouting and running behind them, but the gaze of the three children was fixed on the motionless snake on the floor, the screeching black vapour that rose from it swirling for a second in the air before dissipating.

"You cast the killing curse..." Neville whispered unsteadily.

Rose blinked. "What did you think we were going to do with it?"

"I- I don't-"

"Get yourself together Neville." she rolled her eyes. "This is war."

Footsteps sounded, coming ever close them and Harry shushed them hurriedly. They froze.

"Merlin's balls!" the voice came from thin air, and Rose smiled in relief.

"Sirius?"

"Rose?"

The man appeared from thin air and for a moment the three were elated, until they saw who he was carrying.

"Fay!"

Harry got rid of the disillusion, closely followed by Neville and then Rosalie.

"What happened?" he choked out.

"Those monsters used this as entertainment." Minerva appeared, a teary young boy on her back.

"Is everyone else-?" Harry trailed off, afraid to ask.

"They're all alive, if that's what you mean." Sirius answered softly. Harry swallowed thickly, nodding.

"We need to go." Rosalie reminded them. Harry glanced at her, then at their aunt.

"Climb on my back." he urged. "It'll be quicker."

Rose didn't argue and within seconds they were on their way, disillusions back in place.

* * *

Back at the castle, the ragtag group portkeyed into the chamber. Minerva remained on her feet only through force of will and the assistance of Neville, who grabbed her seconds before she would have fallen, off-balance thanks to the weight of the boy on her back.

Now that hiding wasn't a problem, the injured were transferred to stretchers, as was Fay and they left the chamber in relative silence, making their way to the small antechamber beside the great hall. "Stay in here for now, let Poppy check them before they're mobbed." Minerva instructed. Sirius nodded, and slipped into the hall to fetch the healer. Meanwhile, Harry confirmed what they all wanted to hear- Voldemort was mortal, and could now be killed for good.

Rose was half asleep, the pain from her ankle and late time combined with the come down from adrenaline was having a bad effect on her, and she dozed fitfully, head resting on Neville's legs. Madam Pomphrey quietly healed her foot before returning to the Tomas Garcia.

When it was time for them to re-enter the great hall, as healed as they could be, Neville simply shook his head and told them to leave Rose where she was- Madam Pomphrey protested, but relented when Harry pointed out it would be less work to simply leave her to sleep until the fighting began.

The three were left alone, Harry collapsing next to Neville and munching the banana Madam Pomphrey had insisted they all eat. Neville had finished his, placing Rose's to the side for her.

The peace was broken, however, when a certain red-haired matriach barged in. "HARRY!"

Rose woke with a start, wand in hand and only Neville's hand on her shoulder stopped her from hexing the woman who was apparently attempting to smother her brother.

"What happened? Have you seen Ginny? Where are the others? Did you kill the snake? What were those bangs, were they explosions? Why aren't you answering me?"

"Because he can't breath?" Rose suggested innocently. Mrs Weasley scowled at her, releasing Harry in the process.

"Ginny is safe, Mrs Weasley." Neville assured her.

"She went with Hermione into the chamber to search and came back safely." Rose said, at the same time as Harry said:

"Sirius and Aunt Minerva rescued her and the others from Voldemort."

They froze.

"Harry?" Rose sounded stunned, staring at him as he gaped right back at her.

"How could she have been in both places?" Neville questioned.

"She couldn't have." Harry took of running, Rose close behind him. They burst into the hall, heading straight to where Madam Pomphrey was treating the hostages. Ginny was sat next to Katie, both pale and bruised but otherwise fine. Without hesitating, Harry withdrew his wand and pointed it at the startled redhead.

"What did you say to me the first time you met me?" he demanded.

Ginny looked stunned, then angry, "What?"

"What did you say to me the first time you met me?" he repeated, raising his wand a little.

There was a pause. "I didn't say anything. I just sort of squeaked." she answered eventually. Harry lowered his wand, looking relieved. "What is going on?"

"I think we'd all like to know that, pup." Sirius's voice rang out. Harry swallowed.

"When Ginny was being held hostage, who went to search the chamber with Hermione and Slughorn?"

Hermione looked confused, then frightened. "Oh my God, Ginny did."

"What?" questioned Cho.

"Ginny came with us. She was there."

Ginny looked baffled. "I wasn't- I hadn't been in the castle since before the fighting started! I was outside..."

"Cedric..."

The breathless whisper had them all turning. Hannah Abbott looked stricken, hands pressed to her mouth. "What?" Harry questioned, not unkindly.

"Cedric..." she repeated, tears filling her eyes. "After… after the fourth task, in the hospital wing. I didn't notice at the time, but afterwards I would have sworn he was there. But… but he couldn't have been so I thought I'd just made something up by accident and imagined it. But I would swear he was there..."

"I didn't notice- I only met him once or twice." Rose murmured when Harry glanced at her enquiringly, hoping she remembered better than he did.

"Neither did I. Though now I think about it, it's possible..."

Mrs Weasley was sobbing noisily, having followed in their wake. "How did we not notice? Our baby was right in front of us and we didn't notice."

"It wasn't me, mum!" Ginny exclaimed, frustrated at her inability to see past her own problems.

"Then who was it? And who was in the hospital wing?" Fred asked. George nodded his agreement.

"And why didn't we notice either of them?"

"Notice-me-not charm, perhaps." Harry mused. "Or at least some version of it."

"Designed so that we wouldn't realised someone was standing in the room who shouldn't be." Minerva looked thoughtful.

"A little like how she shouldn't be..." Rose was staring at a little blonde girl, who looked alarmed to have all the attention on her.

Harry's mouth dropped open. "Fay?"

The girl took off running. "Hey!" He took off after her, racing out of the hall and through the corridors. Behind him, at least two people were running with him and while he was fairly certain neither one was Rose, beyond that he couldn't tell.

Still sprinting, as he passed a hall that split off he saw a flash of blonde hair and skidded to a stop, backtracking a few steps. Fay was standing on the window ledge- as he looked, she glanced at him and smirked. It looked out of place on her face, even as the breeze whipped her hair around her.

The footsteps that had been accompanying them came up behind Harry and from the corner of his eye he saw Sirius and Kinglsey, both breathless with exertion.

"Fay?" Harry turned his full attention back to the girl. To his astonishment, as he watched she began to shift and change. Her body stretched and contorted, lengthening and changing and then quickly as it begun, it stopped and Harry was faced with a tall, olive-skinned woman, the same smirk still on her face as she tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder. And then without warning, she fell backwards, diving out of the open window.

"Merlin's balls!" Sirius exclaimed as the three rushed forward. But when they looked out, the ground beneath them was clear, the woman gone.

Harry blinked, feeling the beginning of a headache coming on. "What just happened?"

 _ **So... who saw that coming? :-D X**_


	44. Chapter 44

"Another metamorphmagus?" Tonks gaped, visibly stunned. Sirius rubbed his neck.

"That's out best guess." he confirmed. "We can't think of another explanation."

"But… who is she? I've never even heard of another!" she exclaimed. "I mean- who- how?"

"I think the more relevant question is why was she here and who sent her?" Kingsley crossed his arms, concerned.

Rose was more concerned about something else, however. "It's five minutes till midnight."

"Then may I suggest we leave the conundrum of our unexpected visitor for another time." Dumbledore pressed his fingers together, amiable and wise. Harry looked at him scathingly.

"I was actually thinking we could continue to debate while waiting for Voldemort to stroll in." he said sarcastically. Rose nudged him gently.

"Breathe..." she muttered. He scowled darkly, but did as she said.

Wand in one hand and gun in another, Harry stood in the entrance hall, peering out of the windows into the darkness outside. The seconds were ticking by, and at any moment he knew Voldemort would appear, flanked by his death eaters.

At two minutes to midnight, a scream sounded into the night.

"GO!" Sirius ordered, the doors flinging open. And all hell broke loose.

Harry and Rose were launched into action, shooting bullets and spells towards the werewolves that were attempting to gain entrance to the castle. They ducked and dived around each other with practised ease, using every method at their disposal. Their training was apparent; they obliterated every person that came their way, owning the field as they moved as if performing an intricate dance.

From the turrets, Minerva was directing the statues to proceed against the giants she could see approaching a little way off. Dumbledore was behind her, casting patronus after patronus against the wave of dementors that glided towards the castle. But both of their attentions were drawn to the pair on the field.

Minerva glanced to the man who had once been her friend; his mouth was gaping as he watched with undisguised shock the pair below.

"Do you still think you were right in your actions?" She questioned. He looked stunned, glancing over to her and then back to the children. "Look at them. If you had had your way, that boy down there would have no training and would likely already be dead. He is alive, and he is winning because of Emmeline, because of what she did. She gave him a childhood, and the chance to not only survive, but to live. To truly live."

Dumbledore continued to watch the fight as Minerva concentrated on her spells, looking up when she had a spare moment to find, to her astonishment, a tear tracking it's way down his wrinkled cheek. "Albus?"

"Oh Minerva..." he sighed, choked. "My dear, what have I done? What did I nearly do?"

Minerva could have cast a dozen patronuses from the joy that swelled inside her. She placed a hand on his arm, and smiled the first genuinely warm smile at him for many years. "You were human and you made a mistake. It's allowed."

His eyes welled. "I thought- I wanted-"

"You wanted to be a hero, and got a little lost on the way." she said gently. "And now you can redeem yourself. Albus, you've been advocating for a long time that anyone can change. Now it's time to see if you can."

He smiled, meeting her eyes as determination set in and together, they turned back towards their tasks and raised their wands.

* * *

On the ground, the fighting continued and Rose found herself back to back with Harry, inundated with threats as their joint style quickly labelled them targets. However, just as Rosalie thought she'd earnt herself a little breathing space, out of the corner of her eye she saw Hermione frozen over the gasping form of one of the wolves, who had taken a blasting curse to the side but was somehow still alive. Rose slashed at one lunging at her, sending him sprawling before she fired a bullet into his head.

"HERMIONE! JUST KILL HIM!"

But the bushy-haired girl would not. Eventually, Rose fired the killing curse over her shoulder. The wolf fell still and Hermione gasped, mouth dropping open. "Firstly-" Rose began darkly. "Keeping anyone- man, werewolf or other in pain is just cruel. You reductoed him- have the guts to finish the job. Secondly, you are responsible for making sure these monsters don't reach any of the defenceless people inside the castle. If you-"

"They're people!" Hermione burst out. Around them, the fighting raged on. "They didn't ask to be werewolves!They're just people, like Professor Lupin was!"

"People who made the choice to join Voldemort and be here tonight, knowing they would be at their most dangerous!" Rose snapped. "They didn't choose to be werewoles but they did choose to be here and to harm innocents. Which brings me to my third point- if you can't bring yourself to kill the people who would kill you without a thought, get the hell away from here. Go inside, help Madam Pomphrey. But right now, you are a liability so get the hell away."

She glared, furious. Hermione nodded, looking shell-shocked. "I- I'm sorry..."

"Don't be sorry, just go make yourself useful!" Rose snapped, shoving her back towards the castle and spinning around to rejoin the fray.

"You doing okay, angel?" Sirius yelled, ducking a yellow spell and sending off a purple one of his own.

" _Fantastique!_ " Rose replied, rolling her eyes as she kicked out at one death eater while firing at another. The former snarled, firing spells at her with far more ferocity than before. Rose ducked and wove, but there were now many people fighting in an increasingly smaller area, and it was becoming difficult to defend herself without hurting someone on the same side as her. The death eater she was duelling with send a barrage of spells at her, rendering her unable to do anything but defend and shield.

Then, without warning, a split second after firing a killing curse at Rosalie, he spun and fired a bombarda at Sirius. He was busy duelling someone else, his attention diverted so that he only saw the incoming spell at the last moment. Rose had had to throw herself to the ground to avoid the curse aimed at her but had misjudged- the ground dipped just where she landed, and she fell further than she'd anticipated. The fall jarred her, her wand falling from her hand as she lay sprawled and so she could only scream as Sirius was thrown backwards as the bombarda impacted with his hasty shield, falling to the floor so hard that even over the fighting, she heard the crack of his skull hitting the ground.

"PAPA!"

She didn't bother with her wand or her gun, simply threw the knife in her hand. It hit with deadly precision, aided by the magic that swirled around her and landed in the chest of the masked man, sliding between his ribs to pierce his heart. Without hesitation she summoned it back to her, and caught it before the dead man had even hit the ground.

The sound of her own heartbeat thudded in her ears as around her, time seemed to slow. It was like being underwater; everything was muted and distant as she looked around her. Sirius was lying motionless; behind him, Susan was splayed on the grass. She didn't know if either was alive but before she could check she noticed Daphne struggling to hold her own against two masked death eaters.

Without thinking about it, Rose rolled to her feet, catching hold of her wand on the way and fired two bullets, hitting each in the head and dropping them instantly. Daphne looked stunned, glancing from the bodies to Rosalie and then back again. Their eyes met for a split second, before a cry rang out from behind them. Recognising her aunt, Rosalie spun and raced towards her. Minerva was on the ground, wand a little ways off and seconds away from the death eater in front of her from casting the killing curse.

"NO!"

Rose flung herself at the man, knocking him to the ground as his curse hit a nearby tree. Anger and fear fuelled her as she ruthlessly slit his throat with her knife.

He gurgled, hands coming up to clutch his neck as blood bubbled. Rose pushed herself off of him, stumbling backwards with trembling hands. "Rosalie..." Minerva was there, steadying her as she gagged.

" _Tata_ … Sirius..." she gasped.

"Do you know where your brother is?" Minerva questioned urgently. Rose shook her head. "Go and find him, i'll deal with your father. Hurry!"

Torn, Rose agreed and hurried in the opposite direction to where she'd last seen Harry. The dark, unfamiliar terrain and constant shifting of the people around her meant that it was almost impossible for her to get her bearings.

"Rosalie!"

She spun; Hermione was sprinting towards her, face smeared with dirt and hair in dissaray. "DUCK!" She screamed breathlessly.

Rose had to resist the urge to quip 'where' as she threw herself to the ground, a red stunner flying over her head. She hadn't seen the death eater descending on her, his green killing curse now harmlessly soaring over her and into the back of one of his comrades. She gasped, automatically summoning his wand and snapping it as she rose from the ground, glancing to Hermione with a small smile. "Thanks."

She nodded. "We think there are a couple of first years in Hagrid's hut."

"What are they doing there?!" Rose yanked her sideways and fired a powerful cutting curse at the masked man behind them.

"I don't know, but Daisy saw them on the map."

Rose looked baffled. "Daisy?"

"She refused to leave during the evacuation- she didn't want to leave without her older brother."

Rose sighed, just preventing herself from rolling her eyes. "Are you going to get them?"

Hermione nodded. "Where are you going?"

"Harry. Have you seen him."

"I think I saw him by the greenhouses." She resisted the urge to smile when Rose looked blank. "That way." she pointed. Rose nodded her thanks and jogged off in the direction she pointed.

In the darkness, the flash of spells was disorienting as she stumbled forward, casting her own and firing her gun sometimes simultaneously. "Rosie!"

She spun at the shout, just in time to see Harry barrelling towards her before she was engulfed in a hug. "Harry..!" she complained, wriggling free. "Is this the time? There's a war on!"

"Susan thought she'd seen you be hit by the killing curse." he breathed. "And then I couldn't find you..."

"I'm fine." she assured him. "A few close calls, but i'm okay. Are you?"

"I can't find-"

He broke off, staring at something beyond her shoulder. She turned, following his gaze and paling when she saw the inhuman figure floating across the grounds. "Voldemort..." she murmured, reaching out unthinkingly for Harry's hand. He entwined their fingers, swallowing.

"You should go, help the others..."

"I will be beside you." she said simply, her tone leaving no room for arguments. They broke their connection and advanced towards the man, weapons at the ready.

"Harry Potter." Red eyes bored into calm green ones.

"Hello Tom."

He snarled. "Don't call me that! I am Lord Voldemort!"

Rose snorted indelicately. "You're a half-blood psychopath with daddy issues and a muggle name."

"Well… he has mummy issues too." Harry pointed out.

"That's true. He sort of has general family issues… is there a term for that?"

"Dysfunctional childhood?" Harry suggested. "Or toxic upbringing?"

She looked thoughtful. "I like the first better. _Mais_ I think 'turned up' covers all of it fairly well. Is that the correct phrase?"

"I think you mean screwed up." He corrected, amused.

"ENOUGH!"

A furious Voldemort sent a barrage of spells in their direction. Harry quickly conjured a large rock to block them, yanking Rose closer to him. "Was antagonising him really a good idea?" he gasped in a breath. She shrugged, a glimmer of a smile appearing.

"I didn't see you coming up with a better one."

"COME OUT AND FACE ME POTTER!"

"YOU NEED TO LEARN TO CONTROL YOUR ANGER ISSUES!" Rose shouted back as she lay on the floor to send a flurry of spells back. "IT'S NOT GOOD FOR YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE TO BE SO AGITATED."

A wordless scream of fury was the answer to that, along with the sound of the rock the were crouching behind cracking. Rose winced, glancing to Harry. "Hurry up!"

"I'm trying!" he wrestled with his pocket, struggling to yank the bag out of it. From beside a nearby tree, Rose noticed Neville gaping as Harry managed to withdraw a full-sized rucksack out of his jeans. She winked at him, laughing slightly as he shook his head in disbelief at her and Harry.

"Got them!" Harry looked triumphant as he dug through the bag, withdrawing a grenade.

"Are you sure you know how to use them?"

"Yes!" he looked indignant. "I had Gideon teach me, once _Monsieur Lefebvre_ had bought them for me."

"I still can't believe you had our lawyer buy black market weapons." Rose muttered as Harry wrenched the pin from the grenade and threw it around the rock. They both shoved their fingers in their ears as the resulting explosion shook the ground.

"Wouldn't it be great if that worked?" Harry looked amused. But that notion was shot down rather quickly at the shriek of rage that sounded into the night.

"MUGGLE WEAPONS, POTTER! WHAT KIND OF WIZARD ARE YOU?"

Harry grinned at Rose. "THE KIND THAT LIKES TO WIN!"

They both launched themselves around the rock in opposite directions and shot a multitude of spells at the man. But unfortunately, his reputation wasn't entirely unwarranted and he fought them off with little trouble. Spells flew thick and fast, colouring the air- quite literally- and with a sinking feeling Harry realised that even together, he and Rose weren't powerful enough to best Riddle alone.

"Harry James, stop doubting yourself!" Rose screamed at him. He glanced at her, wondering how she'd known. "I know you, _stupide!_ " She dragged him back behind the rock. "We have been training for the for the _majorité_ of our lives! We can do this, stop doubting!"

With that, she spun out from where she was half-crouched and fired several shots in Voldemort's direction. "You can't win this Tom!" Harry yelled.

"And why is that, Harry Potter?" He paused in his fighting, and so the children did the same.

"Look around!" Rosalie exclaimed. "Your followers have been decimated! There's no one left! You're all alone."

"Lord Voldemort does not need anyone else!" he hissed. "I am more powerful than you can dream of!"

"Perhaps." Harry conceded, much to his shock. "But we have one very important advantage."

"And _what_ is _that?_ " he spat.

"Them."

For the first time, Voldemort looked around, and snarled. While they'd been duelling, the rest of the fighting had died down. Years of defense training meant that even the students were a match for the death eaters, especially when working together. And with the more experienced able to deal with the greater threats of the werewolves and giants, those working against Voldemort had slowly but surely prevailed, and were now ready to finish the war once and for all.

"You can't win!" Harry looked him square in the eye, defiant and strong. Voldemort looked at him, and smirked.

"Do you truly believe that?"

Suddenly, he launched into a series of complicated wand movements and before anyone could move, a white dome had encompassed him and Harry. Rose gasped, mouth dropping open.

"HARRY!"

Neville raced up to beside her. "What happened? What is that?"

"I don't know!"

Luna threw a spell at it, only to yelp when it immediately rebounded and headed back towards her. "Be careful, Miss Lovegood!" Kingsley scolded, pulling her out of the way.

"HARRY!" Hermione tried to peer into the dome, but there was no way to see in. Rosalie was deathly pale.

"Where are the other death eaters?" asked Ginny.

"Those that are still alive are being guarded by Madam Bones and the other aurors." Kingsley replied, inspecting the dome in an attempt to find a way in. "What is this?" he exclaimed in frustration.

"There's no way in." A horrified Susan voiced what they were all thinking. Harry was on his own.


	45. Chapter 45

In and out.

In and out.

In and out.

Harry maintained the mantra in his head as he eyed the man in front of him, wand in his right hand and gun in his left.

In and out.

Around them, the white dome shimmered, preventing Harry from seeing outside of it and- he assumed- anyone from seeing in.

"Harry Potter." Voldemort hissed. "The Boy Who Lived."

"I meant what I said, Tom- it's over. You've lost."

Instead of replying, Voldemort shot a killing curse at him. Harry simply stepped to the side. "There are no more Horcruxes." he continued conversationally, continuing to sidestep each spell directed towards him. "No more back up plans. It's just you and me."

"You are a fool!"

"Petty name calling, Tom?" Harry shook his head in exaggerated disappointment. "I thought you would be above that. This is your chance to shine- aren't you going to something other than shoot weak spells at me?"

He snarled. "Weak? I'll show you weak!"

Now, Harry was forced to duck and weave, dancing deftly out of the path of a dozen killing curses. He fired a bullet; it pierced Voldemort's shoulder, causing him to howl.

"FILTHY MUDBLOOD!"

"And proud of it!" Harry declared. "Rather a mudblood than a purist! After all, it was my mudblood mother who destroyed you the first time around, wasn't it? It was mudbloods and blood-traitors and creatures who destroyed your horcruxes! And it'll be me- a filthy half-blood born to a muggleborn and a pureblood and adopted into a pureblood family that destroys you now!"

Harry cast a series of spells- one that cause quicksand to form under the man's feet, a leg-locker curse, a hex to glue his tongue to his mouth, one that forced him to bend over double then another that glued his arms to his chest, crossed over each other like a mummy and then to finish, a summoning spell on his wand.

He caught it deftly, smirking. "Well Tom? Where are your words now?"

It took several moments for him to put himself to rights- Harry used that time to cast some exploratory spells on the dome, disappointed to discover that it seemed impenetrable.

"Is that all you've got Potter? A series of spells performed by those who haven't even taken their OWLs yet?" Voldemort sneered. He waved his hand, and Harry flew backwards. He impacted the dome with a grunt, sliding down it and rolling as soon as he'd hit the floor.

He launched a series of spells while kneeling, the flurry flying past Voldemort's head as he returned fire and Harry was forced to shield, using it as an opportunity to scramble to his feet. Voldemort conjured a boulder and attempted to send it around the shield; Harry surprised him by running towards it and diving underneath, rolling to his feet and firing off yet more spells. Instead of hitting Voldemort, the disarming spell instead impacted with the killing curse shooting towards him.

The two spells exploded with a flash of light and loud bang- Harry ducked, conjuring up a large rock to dash behind while he caught his breath and inspected his wand. It seemed unharmed, much to his relief. After all, it had been crafted especially for him when he was eight years old.

"Come out and face me, Harry Potter!" Voldemort spat his name. Beyond that, Harry couldn't hear him at all. Carefully, he performed a charm that caused a small patch of air in front of him to become reflective. He manipulated it so that he could see around the corner, peering into it.

"AAH!"

He threw himself to the side just as a huge snake made of fire bit down on where he had been moments before. Voldemort was laughing, head thrown back and so didn't notice when Harry sent a reducto towards him.

"Master Harry Potter Sir!" a small pop had him looking around in surprise.

"… _Dobby?!_ "

The small elf nodded vigorously, then yelped when Voldemort sent a curse at him. Harry returned fire in bullet form this time, wondering how he'd dodged his previous curse. "Dobby, what are you doing in here?" Get out!"

"But Master Harry Potter was wanting to know if we's be finding the bad soul bitty!" He replied frantically, jumping around to avoid the spells still occasionally shot his way.

Harry spared a moment to gape at him. "You found the horcrux!?"

Dobby nodded. "But we elves not be knowing what to do now!"

"Take it to Rose, she'll tell you!" Harry ordered urgently. "And HURRY!"

* * *

Emmeline opened her eyes with a gasp.

Every part of her body ached, every muscle protesting any movement- even breathing- while nausea washed through her in sickening waves. But she forced her head to turn to the side, gaze flickering over the near empty hall in confusion.

"Poppy?" she croaked, spotting the matron bustling around other occupied cots.

"Merlin alive, you're awake!" her mouth dropped open, stunned for the briefest of moments before she launched into action. For several minutes, Emmeline couldn't get a word in edgeways as she performed spell after spell on her and poured several potions down her throat.

"POPPY!" She eventually snapped, knocking her wand away. The matron looked taken aback. "Where are my children?"

The older woman hesitated. "You need to rest Emmeline, I still have no idea why you collapsed or why I couldn't wake you up-"

"Poppy." Emmeline said quietly, cutting her off. "Where are they? Please."

She swallowed thickly. "They've gone to fight." She admitted in almost a whisper. Emmeline felt her heart constrict.

"I need to go to them." She swung her legs around, hand reaching out to steady herself.

"Absolutely not!" Madam Pomphrey pressed down on her shoulder to stop her from rising. "I will not permit it!"

Emmeline silenced her with a glare. "It is not your decision." She said frostily. "They are my children. The apocalypse itself could not stop me from going to them."

She pushed the woman away from her and rose unsteadily to her feet, an arm wrapped around herself as she stumbled from the hall. She brushed a hand over her wand to ensure it was still safely in its charmed holster, rushing over the grounds in search of Harry and Rosalie. It didn't take her long for her to realise something had happened- many lay slumped motionless on the ground, some dead and some unconscious. Some of the unconscious ones were being levitated by what looked like aurors.

"What the-?" she stopped dead, blinking at the sight of the huge white dome in front of her, surrounded by people who were either firing spells at it or simply milling around. She had thought this was a battle- there didn't seem to be much fighting.

"Rosie…" she breathed in relief, spotting the blonde hair of her daughter standing slightly apart from the crowd, nibbling at her lip while her gaze was fixed to the dome in front of her. Emmeline noticed that every so often, a small flash of coloured light would be visible inside but other than that, it remained stubbornly opaque no matter what was done to it.

"Harry Potter's Rosie Miss!"

Rose jumped, looking down enquiringly. "Dobby?" she questioned uncertainly. He nodded.

"I is being Dobby." He confirmed, and explained to her what he's told Harry. She lit up.

"The horcruxes- I'd forgotten!"

Emmeline chose this moment to call out, now close enough to be heard. "Rosie?"

" _Maman!_ "

Emmeline found herself with an armful of her daughter, who clung to her tightly. "How did you wake up? Never mind, doesn't matter. Dobby, do you have the horcrux now?"

Emmeline was dizzy with the speed her daughter was talking at. Dobby nodded, vanishing for a brief moment before reappearing with a tiara floating in front of him.

"Oh…"

"Ravenclaw's lost diadem." Luna sounded triumphant as she drifted closer.

"Bloody hell." Neville gaped.

"Would you like to do the honours?" Rose offered tentatively. He froze, eyes snapping up to meet hers. She kept her expression carefully blank, simply waiting for his reply. Eventually, he gave a single, sharp nod of his head. The small crowd that had gathered were ushered back as Neville pointed his wand, visibly trembling. "Av- Avada K-kedavra."

Nothing happened.

"You have to mean it." Rose said quietly. "Gather all the hate and fear and anger inside of you and use it to power your spell. Think of all the innocents who have died, all the children who have been forced to fight a war. All the pain and suffering. Take all of it and use it to your advantage."

He swallowed thickly, but nodded. For the longest moment, he stared at the diadem without saying a word. Then, slowly he raised his wand once again and took a deep breath. "Avada Kedavra!"

Green light lanced out of his wand,

Rose felt relief rush through her as a scream ripped through the air as black vapour swirled. Without thinking, Rose flicked her wand and sent a blast of air to blow it away, watching with satisfaction as it quickly vanished from view.

"He's mortal." Emmeline breathed, drawing her daughter closer. "It's over."

"Dobby, can you tell Harry?" Rose looked towards the elf, who nodded and vanished.

"What now?" Neville questioned.

"We wait."

It was easier said than done, however, as every beat that passed cause pain to lance into them as they waited desperately from some sign from inside the dome. Emmeline and Rose clutched at each other, and many others were pressed closely together, fingers interlinking and arms wrapping around.

All of a sudden, Amelia Bones was rushing towards them as fast as her injuries would allow. "They've got it!" she called excitedly.

"Who have got what?" Emmeline enquired.

"The unspeakables and cursebreakers. They think they know how to bring the dome down!"

Emmeline lit up. "Then what are you waiting for?"

"Your permission." Amelia took a deep breath. "They don't know what the effect will be. You-know-who may be warned and attack more viciously, or the very act of bringing it down could harm Harry. They just don't know."

Emmeline hesitated, looking helplessly at Rose. The younger blonde set her jaw. "Do it."

"Rosie?"

"What is the other option, _maman?_ Waiting 'ere and 'oping?"

"I agree." Fleur said quietly, coming up behind them. Emmeline pressed her lips together, but nodded. "Do it." she confirmed in a whisper, looking up at Amelia.

The world seemed to blur as the older woman hurried off and Emmeline returned her gaze to the white mass in front of her, nibbling her lip as she waited to see if this would work.

The dome shuddered and flashed- for one moment it became transparent, and Emmeline was horrified to spot her son furiously firing spells that were being quickly flicked away, with others returning towards him. But then it was opaque once again, and her view was cut off.

"AMELIA!" Emmeline cast a desperate glance at her, drifting closer to the dome without thinking about it. "Harry…"

A brilliant flash of light had her arms coming up in defence, covering her face as she shied aware from the source- the dome. But when she raised her head, to her utter joy she saw the sides of the dome breaking apart and sinking into the ground.

"HARRY!"

Distracted by a conjured cockatrice, Harry hadn't seen the green killing curse directed at him from behind. But without the block of the dome, Emmeline had and now threw herself forward, crossing the distance between them so fast it barely registered until she had Harry in her arms and was pushing him out of the way, the two of them crashing into the giant rock behind him as she twisted so that her body took the impact rather than his.

Voldemort laughed, high and cold. "What's this?"

Pain radiated through her body, but she recovered enough to shove Harry away towards the crowd, spinning to raise a shield in the same smooth motion against the curse Voldemort fired. "NO ONE ELSE!" she snarled, returning a barrage of spells. "You will not take anyone else from me!" Colours arched through the air, as the smile fell from Voldemort's face and Emmeline allowed anger to burn away the pain.

"You are as foolish as the boy's mother was!" Voldemort hissed as a wall of flame hit Emmeline's hasty aguamenti.

"Then I consider myself in fine company indeed!"

She jabbed her wand, light splicing towards him. For one, brilliant moment she thought it was going to hit, but with one last-minute slash of his wand he deflected it and returned one of his own.

" _Maman!_ " Harry yelled, terrified as the spell came within inches of hitting her. He fired his gun and this time, distracted by Emmeline, Voldemort wasn't fast enough to dodge. The bullet impacted his lower forearm, shattering it and causing his wand to drop to the ground.

He roared in pain and anger. "POTTER!"

Without hesitating Emmeline summoned his wand, catching it deftly with one hand while sending out a snake of ropes to bind the maniac on the ground. But with a wave of his remaining hand, the ropes vanished and Emmeline was sent careening backwards, hitting the ground with a groan.

Unseen, Rosalie had snuck around the back of the fight and now threw a knife with all her strength- it whistled through the air and landed in Voldemort's upper back with an audible thump. He screeched, whirling to send a blast of pure magic at her.

She gasped, left without cover but Neville stepped forward and summoned her without missing a beat; she landed unsteadily in his arms, which he wrapped around her tightly to secure her balance.

While Voldemort was distracted, Harry attempted to shoot him once again, only to find that at the most inopportune moment possible, he'd run out of bullets. He tossed his gun away with a muttered curse, raising his wand instead only to realise that Rose and Neville had been buried beneath a pile of conjured sand and Voldemort, staggering but still on his feet had turned back to Harry and already had a curse on his lips.

"FLAGRANTE!"

"PROTEGO!"

Harry held his shield in front of him, stunned when it actually worked and the burning curse rebounded harmlessly off of it. Voldemort shrieked and screamed as his own flames consumed him. Within seconds, the curse had stopped and Harry allowed his shield to drop, his arm lowering as he stared at the sight in front of him.

Voldemort lay on the ground, a blackened, smoking mass. The smell caused Harry to gag, eyes watering as he walked slowly forwards, gaze fixed on the thing that had moments before been his enemy. As he stood over it, he realised the burns were not bad enough to destroy the body in any way- the arms, legs and head were clearly distinctive; he could even see the fingers clenched around what had previously been a wand.

As he stood there, eyes wide and shock running through him, the thing on the ground snapped its eyes open and gasped in a breath, wheezing as it spoke. "Harry Potter."


	46. Chapter 46

_**I am so sorry- I started university, studying Paediatric Nursing and then my laptop broke. Apparently the graphic drive burnt out or something, but until I save enough to buy a new one i'm stuck using the uni ones or borrowing my parent's!**_

 _ **I'll try to get the next ones up faster**_

 _ **X**_

"Harry Potter."

Harry stared down at the pitiful form on the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see staff, students and aurors battling to shift the sand suffocating Rosalie and Neville. Behind him, he could hear movement that told him his mother was limping closer and beyond that, there were still groups of people watching.

"The-boy-who-lived." Voldemort continued, panting, eyes fixed on Harry. But Harry simply shook his head.

"No." he denied. "I'm not the boy-who-lived. I'm just a boy. One who is lucky enough to be loved very dearly by two mothers."

"An oversight… on my part."

Emmeline linked her fingers with Harry's, Voldemort's first wand still in her hand. His second one was burnt to embers, and as he watched her she very deliberately snapped the one she held.

"You were… a worthy… opponent… just as the prophecy said…"

Harry snorted. "Haven't you worked it out? The prophecy was worthless. It was only your belief in it that caused it to become true. If you'd ignored it, you'd have likely won the war fifteen years ago."

A thousand emotions passed through the eyes of the creature on the ground, but Harry didn't care to decipher them. "Harry… Potter…" came the final murmur before his eyes dimmed and closed, exhaling one last time.

Harry stared. "He's dead." He murmured numbly.

"Harry…" Emmeline hadn't even got the name out before Harry had spun around and fallen into her arms. She caught him easily, relishing the feeling of his heart beating against her.

Cheers went up from the crowd behind them, but they merely clung to each other for a long moment before breaking apart and racing to where Rose and Neville were being dug out. Neville was mostly free, insisting loudly that they concentrate on finding Rosalie.

Whipping out their wands Emmeline and Harry hurriedly began moving the sand carefully to the side- too fast and they were liable to crush Rosalie, too slow and she would suffocate. But eventually, the small group moved enough to reveal the blonde hair of the girl they were searching for and it was Kingsley who reached in, grabbing her and pulling her free.

Emmeline fell to her knees beside her daughter, ignoring the pain that radiated throughout her from the movement as she began to murmur spells to clear her airway and get her breathing again. "Rosalie." She murmured desperately. "My Rosalie, please breath."

Harry fumbled to find her pulse, sagging in relief when he felt it thrumming beneath his fingers. But by now, Rosalie's lips and fingers were blue, her body limp and lifeless.

"Is she okay?" Neville was asking desperately, struggling to get up from where a healer was attempting to keep him lying still.

"Rosalie…" Emmeline ran a hand over her daughter's head, her other coming to rest over her heart. "Rose…"

Tears fell as she leant forward, nuzzling into her as Harry continued to cast spells. "Rosie, breath." She whispered. "For me, sweetheart, please."

She barely dared to believe it when she heard a choking noise, raising her head to see Rose's eyes fly open, gasping in a breath. Emmeline let out a sob, hurrying to help her sit up to ease her breathing. "Voldemort?" Rose wheezed in question. Harry grinned happily at her.

"Dead."

A bright smile spread over her face as she threw her arms around him, giggling and coughing at the same time.

"Si-rius?" she questioned. Emmeline looked blank.

"What about him?"

"He was in-jured." Rose let out a harsh cough. "Aunt Minerva took him."

"We haven't seen him." Harry frowned.

"Let's get to Madam Pomphrey, he'll likely be there." Emmeline straightened, and leaning awkwardly on each other they clambered to their feet.

"Harry! Rose!" Hermione raced towards them, hair streaming behind her as she barrelled into them. "You did it! Are you both okay? Where did you learn to fight like that? Did the fire burn you? How-?"

"Hermione!" Harry interrupted in amusement. "We're fine." He wrapped his arms around her for a brief moment. Hermoine's reaction had triggered a chain reaction- many members of the crowd surged forward, wanting to shake Harry's hand and congratulate him but he angrily threw up a ward to stop them.

"Where the hell were you all fifteen minutes ago?" he demanded. They all stopped, stunned. "How dare you think you can treat me as your hero when a little while ago you all stood and watched while I fought for my life? When you all stood when my sister and one of my best friends were suffocating? When my mother was duelling despite being in a coma an hour ago?"

"Harry-" began one woman but Emmeline cut her off.

"Don't. He's right. You're all pathetic. There are very good reasons we reside in France- this is one of them. Children, let's go."

That included Neville, Hermione and Luna and without bothering to remove the ward they made their way back up to the castle.

The hall was now even busier than before, with Madam Pomphrey rushing around with several students having been roped into assisting her.

"Emmeline! Children!"

Sirius lurched from the cot he was sat on, brushing off Minerva's attempt to get him to sit back down as he stumbled in their direction. Emmeline broke away from the children and they met each other within seconds, embracing tightly.

Rosalie giggled, leaning against Harry slightly as Minerva crossed to hug them tightly, shaking her head fondly at the adults making a scene. They made an even bigger one, however, when Sirius drew backwards slightly from the embrace and kissed Emmeline soundly on the lips.

Harry's mouth dropped open, while Rose gasped and smiled widely, hands flying up to cover her mouth.

"Good grief." Muttered Minerva, but a smile played around her lips.

Emmeline stared at Sirius for a long moment, before a small smile spread across her face and she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply.

" _Honestly._ " Harry looked disgusted. "Nobody needs to see that!"

"I think it's sweet." Rosalie smiled joyfully.

"You would." He grouched. "They're _old._ It's just wrong."

"I wouldn't let them hear you say that." Hermione smirked. Madam Pomphrey rushed over and ushered them all onto beds, threatening them with a binding curse if they didn't take the cocktail of potions she gave to them and meanwhile Emmeline and Sirius had broken apart only long enough to move to a bed and drink the potions they'd been given.

"'Arry!" Fleur rushed into the hall and hugged him tightly. "Are you okay? And you Rosalie?" she leant over to embrace the younger blonde.

"We're fine." Harry assured her.

"Miss Delacour, get back in bed!" Madam Pomphrey caught sight of her. "And if you sneak out again I'll attach a sticking charm to you!"

Fleur went light pink, kissing Emmeline before crossing over to where she'd been sequestered earlier. Rose narrowed her eyes at Harry, who was watching their cousin with a strange expression on his face. She frowned, glancing over to Fleur in time to see her glance at Harry and flush red when she saw he was already looking at her, both of them averting their eyes.

" _Fils de putain!_ " She gaped at him in shock. "You and Fleu-!"

"SSH!" Harry hissed, casting a worried glance in his mother's direction. "Be quiet Rosalie!"

His sister spluttered. "But- You- And-"

"Nothing's happened!"

"But you want it to!" Her voice rose hysterically.

"Rosie, shut up!"

"What's going on over there?" Emmeline looked up from Sirius, raising an eyebrow at them.

"Nothing!" the children chimed together. She didn't look convinced but turned back to Sirius, and Rose shot a glare at Harry.

"She's your cousin!" she whispered agitatedly.

"Nothing's happened!" he repeated.

"Not the point!"

"And we're not really cousins."

Rose choked. "Not rea- Harry! Close enough!"

"Rosie please." Harry groaned. "Don't you think I feel terrible enough as it is?"

She was gaping at him in shock, but then swallowed thickly. "You can never act on this, Harry. You would break _maman_ 's heart, and Uncle Jean and Aunt Appolline's too."

"I know."

"Swear to me. Harry, we've just got her back please promise me you won't ruin this." She begged. He wrapped an arm around her, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"I would never purposefully hurt them, Rosie, you know that."

"That wasn't a promise."

Harry sighed. "I can't Rosie."

She pulled away from him with a jerk, staring at him with hurt eyes. "Harry..."

"No Rosie. I won't make a promise that I can't guarantee I can keep."

She studied him carefully, her mouth dropping open. "Are you- are you in love with her?"

"No!"

She looked at him doubtfully and he sighed. "Maybe. Yes? I don't know. It's different from anything I've felt before, even with Susan."

"Harry..."

"Rosie I can't make the promise you want." He said firmly. She was silent for a long moment, watching the rest of the hall absently.

"Don't you dare screw this up, Harry." She muttered.

"What?"

"Any of it. Whatever you do, don't screw it up."

She got up and walked away, leaving Harry to groan and flop backwards, covering his face with his hands.

Rosalie crossed the room, intending to go to Luna and Hermione but was intercepted by Fleur, who reached out to catch her wrist. Rose frowned at her, glaring slightly which caused Fleur to flinch back in confusion.

"Rosalie? Are you alright? Were you injured?" She inquired tentatively. Rose pressed her lips together for a moment before sighing; it wasn't Fleur's fault after all.

"I'm fine." She assured the blonde.

"Zen... what eez wrong?"

Rose lowered herself next to Fleur, rubbing her head. "Out of everyone in the world Fleur, did it have to be Harry?"

There was a long silence. "I- what?" Fleur questioned. Rose looked at her pointedly.

"I'm not an idiot. And if I can see it, other people certainly can."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Fine." She pushed herself to her feet and began to move away but was stopped by Fleur grabbing the hem of her top.

"Wait! Just... just wait." She pulled Rose back down to sit beside her. "It eez not like we planned zis, Rosalie."

"I should 'ope not!"

"Does he feel ze same?" Theinsecure question slipped out before she could help it, and Rose glared at her.

"I am not acting as a go between for my cousin and my brother!" Rose snapped angrily. Fleur shied away.

 _"Mon dieu."_ Rose groaned eventually after another silence. "Yes, 'e feels ze same. More so, in fact; he believes zat he is in love wiz you."

"Really?" Fleur blushed prettily, a smile growing over her face. Rosalie stared at her.

"Oh my God, you feel ze same." She realised with a groan.

"I... Rose..."

"Don't. Just don't."

A thousand thoughts raced through the younger blonde's head as she gazed around the hall- families were reuniting, clutching each other tightly. Others were grieving as they knelt over the bodies of their loved ones, many of those bodies far too small under the white sheets they were covered with. Lovers were embraced by lovers, parents held their children tightly and siblings put rivalry aside as they kept each other close by.

"Everyone has lost so much..." Rose murmured. Against her will, her eyes drifted over to where Emmeline was leaning heavily against Sirius, her eyes closed as a small smile played across her lips. Behind them, she could see Harry with his head in his hands and she didn't have to see his face to know that his expression was torn and guilty. Rosalie sighed heavily.

"'Arry." She called softly, flicking her wand to use a charm so that her voice projected under the noise to catch his attention. He glanced up to her and she waved him over, standing as he approached. "We could all use a little more love, I think." She murmured to him, kissing his cheek and nodding pointedly to a wide-eyes Fleur.

"Rosie..." He began uncertainly.

"You said yourself, brother-mine, you're not actually cousins." She shrugged, smiling wearily. " I will intercept _maman._ "

She walked away and left two stunned faces behind her, glancing back as she reached her parents and grinning when she saw Fleur and her brother sitting close together, talking quietly with their heads bent and their fingers brushing ever-so-slightly.

"Are you alright, darling?" Emmeline smiled up at her, shifting against Sirius so she could sit down. Rose smoothed down her top, attempting to smile but privately thinking it was probably more of a grimace.

 _"Maman,_ Sirius _-_ we need to talk about Harry and Fleur. _"_


	47. Chapter 47

**_I am so sorry! It took me a while to save enough for a new laptop, and during that time I started my paediatric nursing course at uni which is a lot of work! I start my first hospital placement next week, so I can't guarantee the next one will be within the next few weeks..._**

 ** _I can promise that this story is almost finished and that I'd never abandon it- just hang in here with me!_**

 ** _X_**

The aftermath of a battle was a strange thing. It was even stranger when that aftermath also happened to be the aftermath of an entire war.

Those still alive found themselves in a kind of limbo, unable to leave despite how difficult it was to stay. They wandered around the hall, greeting friends with enthusiastic relief and every so often pausing over one of the sheet-covered bodies, grieving as they payed their respects to the fallen.

Every so often, a frantic parent or relative would arrive, desperate for news of a loved one. Minerva and Dumbledore took on the unenviable job of either breaking to them the worse news of their life, or reuniting them with whoever they were looking for. There was a few occasions, however, when the news was worse- a handful of fighters had vanished, never reporting back to the hall. The general consensus was that their bodies had either not been found yet (there were search parties scouring the castle and the grounds, while Hagrid was searching the forest) or the deatheaters had transfigured their bodies into something innocuous, dooming their relatives to live in limbo.

Finally, however, Fleur broke the unspoken tension by announcing her need to leave and inform her parents that she was safe. A shaken Emmeline informed her she was going too- she needed to speak with Appolline and Jean anyway, she'd told Poppy firmly when the matron had protested. It went without saying that Sirius was accompanying her, and likewise Harry and Rosalie were not about to be left behind; Minerva was embraced warmly and kissed goodbye (no one needed to ask to know that she would be staying with her children at Hogwarts) and the small group took one of the portkeys back to the academy.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione took another portkey right behind them accompanied by almost everyone who had been in France before the battle started. In all the former Hogwarts students, only three had decided to remain behind at their former school, the rest all agreeing the academy was better. Dumbledore, still grief-stricken over his realisation of his mistakes found himself with a student cohort of less than fifty students, the majority of which were purebloods.

Quietly, Fred and George pulled Harry to the side and told him that if the offer was still open, they too intended to eventually return to France. But the battle had left both Percy and Bill dead, while Ginny was shaken terribly by her own experience. They were needed more there, at that moment.

Harry had smiled warmly at his older friends, called them idiots for even considering that they might not be welcome and assured them their rooms would be left untouched and waiting.

Rosalie landed at the portkey spot, straightening on wobbly legs as the group she'd travelled with dispersed- Fleur and her mother went to find the elder Delacours, Harry had gulped and scrambled off only to be caught by Sirius who dragged him to one side for a godfather-to-godson chat. Around her, people scurried to and fro, all with a purpose and destination. Exhaustedly, Rosalie stumbled the few steps to a nearby bench and sat down heavily, still not feeling entirely well after the brief suffocation.

A child's cry broke over the hustle and bustle, the piercing sound not even causing a ripple. But it made Rose think of Tonks, Tonks who was going to have a baby who would never know it's father. How many other people had lost fathers, mothers, children?

Against her wishes, Rose's hand started trembling as she pressed it to her mouth, the full force of what had happened that day hitting her all at once. How close had she come to dying, to losing everyone she loved? She could recall in painfully vivid detail how it felt to be trapped, suffocating, unable to breathe and knowing all the while her brother was fighting for his own life just metres from her. The helplessness and barely restrained panic was indescribable- every cell in her body had been screaming as she forced herself not to inhale too deeply for fear of inhaling the surrounding dirt while at the same time her lungs had burnt, begging to take a breath.

Rosalie gasped, hands flying to her throat. "Rosie?"

She blinked rapidly, clearing her vision enough to see Gabrielle in front of her, looking at her worriedly. "Gabi!" she gasped.

"Are you alright?" Rose gasped in breaths, reaching out to snag Gabrielle's hand to ground herself.

"I… I am fine."

She gave her a weak smile, breathing deeply. Around her, chaos reigned and she wondered absently how life would ever go back to normal after this.

"Rosie! Rosie!"

She resisted the urge to sigh, raising a tired gaze up to face her brother. "Aren't you tired?" she questioned. He paused.

"Yes." He admitted.

"Then do stop running around so energetically." She rubbed her eyes, raising her head to face the sky. The slightest hint of pink was beginning to show over the horizon.

"A new day." Harry had followed her gaze.

"Will it be any different from yesterday?"

"Voldemort is dead." He pointed out, sitting next to her. Gabi was remaining quiet, still clutching Rose's hand. "The war is over."

"For how long?"

He looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, how long until the next pureblood fanatic decides they want to eliminate dirty blood? Or the next dark wizard decides he wants to rule the world? Or-"

"I get your point." He said hastily. She rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and drawing Gabrielle next to her. "We can't live our lives constantly afraid of what will happen next. Voldemort is gone. The deatheaters are all dead or in Azkaban. That has to be enough."

There was a long pause.

"I suppose so." She agreed quietly. Harry rested his cheek on the top of her head, sliding an arm around her, and simply breathed.

* * *

It took several days before anything was even remotely normal. After many, many arguments and discussions, the academy was to remain open to the students who wished to remain there. Not much would change- their families would be living there, their siblings attending classes whether non-magical or not and they would be doing their exams at the end of the year. The very big difference, however, was that their classes would be on actual subjects, rather than aiming to teach them to survive a war. (That said, Sirius insisted on having mandatory self-defense classes. Gideon was utterly bemused by Harry and Rose's request, but nonetheless agreed to teach the muggle portion of the class once a week.)

Emmeline also decided to remain at the academy, acting as headmistress and potions teacher. She was, technically, still an employee of the French ministry but had not yet returned to work, and found that she now didn't particularly wish to. The amount of her children's lives she had missed grieved her, and she had no intention of missing any more. And so, over dinner one night she announced her intentions to officially resign from her post.

" _Maman,_ are you sure?" Rosalie questioned. "You like your work."

"Yes." Emmeline agreed, chewing a piece of bread thoughtfully. "But things are different now. I am different. And truthfully, I simply can't stomach the idea of working under _Monsieur Benoit_ again; I am sure he will be overjoyed to get rid of me as well."

This caused a round of laughter which turned into sounds of disgust when Sirius pulled her in for a kiss. Harry, however, had frozen with a stunned expression on his face. Rose nudged him, tilting her head curiously. He bit his lip, widening his eyes pointedly but that only baffled her more. Eventually, he shook his head and mouthed 'later'.

'Later' turned into the morning, when dinner turned into games that lasted well into the night. Gabrielle had long fallen asleep and it was only when Rose had done the same that anyone realised just how much time had passed. But as soon as they'd all eaten a light breakfast and dispersed for the day Harry caught hold of Rose, tugging her up to his room.

"Harry, what is going on?" she demanded, watching in bemusement as he rushed about his room.

"Rosie, who hates you, _maman_ and me?" he asked, not pausing.

"Voldemort." She responded promptly. He shot her a wry look.

"Who's still alive."

Rose thought for a minute. "His deatheaters?"

"Yes…?"

She frowned. "I don't know Harry. Who?"

" _Monsieur Benoit!_ " he answered triumphantly, holding up his invisibility cloak.

" _Monsieur Benoit?_ "

"Yes! He hates _maman_ and us. How many times did he try to get her to quit or to transfer her?"

She looked baffled. "A lot, but I am uncertain about what this has to do with anything…"

"The metamorphmagus, _maman_ 's illness, the way she was attacked! Who else would have the means and the desire to do those things?"

He grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet and began to hurry along the corridors. "I don't-"

" _Monsieur Benoit_! That's who!"

"What?!"

She was so surprised that she stopped dead, gaping at him before she caught herself and rushed to fall back into step beside him. "Harry! What are you talking about?" She demanded.

"Think about it Rosie! Who else?"

"I can think of about a dozen! That's insane!"

"It explains everything! How they were able to call maman into work, why they targeted you and I! It wasn't they, it was him!"

Rose was giving him a look that told him she clearly thought he'd lost it. "It is insane." She repeated, carefully enunciating her words. "Two children pull a prank and he attempts to kill their mother?"

Now it was Harry's turn to hesitate.

"I don't know." He admitted in frustration. "But everything else makes sense!"

"Brother-mine, this is so far from sense you're in the arctic!"

"Please Rosie! If I'm wrong you can call me an idiot but I don't think I am!"

She sighed, pressing her lips together.

"Okay." She agreed finally. "But I retain all teasing rights if you're wrong."

He grinned. "Thanks."

They took off, quickly reaching the floo. "Where are we actually going?" Rose questioned, realising she didn't know.

"The ministry."

She closed her eyes briefly. "Tell me you're not planning on confronting him."

"I'm not that stupid." He smiled wryly. "We are, however, going to break into his office. Hence this." He held up his invisibility cloak.

Rose was torn between laughing or berating him. She didn't get the chance to decide, however, when voices echoed in the corridor outside. "Maman!" She hissed, Harry grabbed her and pulled her to the fireplace.

"We'll have to go together!"

She didn't argue, simply staying close to him as he threw the handful of floo power in and they stepped into the grate, Rose clinging to him as they struggled to keep their limbs tucked in. They were spewed out into the French ministry of magics, sprawling over the floor.

A chuckle sounded above them. "Well, zat was quite an entrance."

Harry rolled onto his back, peering up. " _Bonjour_." He greeted dazedly. The wizard reached out and helped them both to their feet.

"Aren't you a little old to be flooing together?" He asked in amusement. They glanced at each other.

"Wanted to see if we could." Harry shrugged with a disarming grin. The wizard chuckled.

"Well, I think you got your answer. Maybe don't attempt it again?"

"Maybe not." Rose agreed. " _Au revoir_."

She dragged Harry away and they darted through the corridors, only getting lost twice; the office of their mother's boss was where it had been all those years before when they'd pulled their prank. Harry peeked around the door, grinning when he found the room empty.

"He must be at lunch- Come on!"

He cast a detection charm on the corridor to inform him if anyone was coming as Rose wandered around the room. "Do you really think he'll be stupid enough too leave evidence in the ministry?" She questioned skeptically. Harry shrugged.

"Worth a try, right?"

Rose inclined her head in vague agreement, beginning to search through a filing cabinet while Harry rifled through the desk.

"Anything?" She glanced at him, closing the final draw. He shook his head.

"Not so far..."

They continued to search, the minutes ticking away. "Harry, we have to go!" Rose hissed urgently, glancing at the clock.

"One minute! Something isn't right!"

"What?!"

She glared at him, glancing out to the corridor nervously. "Harry please! I don't want to get caught!"

He turned, saw the look on her face and nodded his acceptance. "Alright." He turned the chair of the desk slightly to the right to match how it had been when they'd entered, and darted across the room to join his sister by the door. As she peeked out to check if it was empty, he cast one last look at the room. He'd intended to check there was no sign of their presence but instead realised what it was that had been bothering him.

"Rosie, the picture!" He exclaimed.

'Picture?" She turned, but he'd already rushed back across the room to where a generic painting of a landscape hung. "Harry-"

He'd already gripped the frame, carefully peering behind it and letting out a small cry of triumph. "Found it!"

"Found what?" Reluctantly she came back further into the room to stand next to him.

"Look!" He removed the picture from the wall completely and Rose's mouth dropped open when she saw the small warded alcove behind it. She cast a diagnostic spell, carefully beginning to unravel the wards. Once Harry had placed the picture on the floor he joined her, and together they managed to dismantle them completely.

Harry snorted. "Always thought he was a pathetic excuse for a wizard."

"Harry!" She scolded. "That's not nice- we've only met him a half dozen times!"

"And?" He shot her a grin as he reached in and withdrew a pile of parchment.

"What is all that?"

"Names and numbers." He frowned. Rose took a small selection, studying them curiously.

"Dates and... money maybe?" She suggested.

"Is he blackmailing someone?"

"More than once someone by the looks of these."

They exchanged a long look. "What is going on?" Harry questioned, baffled. Then he stiffened, and gasped.

"Someone's coming!"

Quick as a flash, Rosalie cast a spell to duplicate the papers, shoving the copies into her bag and carefully placing the originals back in the safe. Harry flicked his wand and sent the picture soaring back onto the wall, before grabbing Rose and peeking out the door.

"It's him!"

Rose inhaled sharply, paling but without missing a beat Harry dug into his bag and withdraw his invisibility cloak. "Get on my back!"

"What?"

"On my back!" He repeated in a hiss. "We'll fit better!"

"By imitating a turtle?"

"Rosie!"

"Alright, alright." She looped her bag over her head and stepped around him, casting a featherlight charm on herself as she jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms and legs around him. He threw the cloak over them and eased the door open, stepping into the corridor just as Monsieur Benoit came barrelling through. He passed so close to them that he brushed the edges of the cloak, thankfully to preoccupied to pay much notice.

Both children breathed a sigh of relief. Harry walked as quickly as he could to the end of the corridor, checking no one else was around as he dropped Rosalie with a grunt and folded up the cloak. "Let's get out of here."

"No argument from me."

They made their way back through the maze of corridors and flooed through to the academy, one at a time. Amazingly, they apparently hadn't been missed and quickly ran upstairs, warding themselves into Harry's room.

"Right- you take this half and I'll take the other." Rose retrieved the two piles of paper from her bag, and the pair set to work.


	48. Chapter 48

_**Alix33- congrats on the job! I'm really happy for you :-D I don't have a proper job, I just tutor secondary school students a couple of times a week so saving up was difficult! But I managed ;-) Thank you for the feedback, it's very helpful!**_

 _ **Enjoy everyone! X**_

It took three days and an awful lot of manoeuvring with the adults before Harry and Rose managed to make sense of the paperwork. They had finally worked out that their mother's boss had two lines of extra business- with the first, he happily took bribes to manipulate events through the ministry, whether that was awarding contracts or hiring certain people in his department. The second side business, however, was slightly more diabolical- he used a variety of methods to get information about people which he then used to blackmail them. In total, Harry and Rose estimated that he'd received over a million galleons in ill-gotten fees over the past decade.

But by the third day, Rose was frustrated. There was no questioning that Benoit was a criminal, but it didn't prove that he'd had anything to do with the attack on Emmeline or anything else that happened.

"You have to admit it's compelling." Harry argued. She sighed, and rubbed her head.

"I'm not denying that. But it doesn't prove anything, therefore it does not help us in the slightest!"

He sighed, but had to concede that she had a point. "So now what?" he questioned. She bit her lip, considering.

"We need to give all of this to the ministry." She cast an eye over the papers around them.

"And _maman?_ "

"I don't know, Harry."

She rested her head on her hand, allowing her gaze to wander over the spread of parchment on the floor. Almost hidden by the sordid details of a ministry worker's affair, a photograph she hadn't seen before caught her eye. She reached out and tugged it towards her, frowning when parchment it was attached to came with it.

"Harry, look at this."

He shifted to sit next to her, eyes widening. "That's the man from the floo- the one who caught us. What does the parchment say?"

Rose handed it to him and continued to study the picture. "Rosie… what language is this?"

"What?" she looked at him quizzically, taking it back from him.

"It looks like French but it… isn't." he finished lamely.

"It's Indian French." She noted quietly. "It's based off of traditional French which is derived from Latin, but then other languages and dialects in the local area influence it and change it slightly. Hence the different words and grammar structures. I believe Indian French is mostly influenced by Dravidian languages though."

Harry stared at her.

"What? I listen at school." She defended.

"So this, here? _Mousé_?"

" _Monsieur."_ She confirmed. "It sounds easier than it looks."

"Right." He said sceptically.

"I don't understand though. Why would monsieur Benoit write his notes in Indian French?" she questioned with a frown.

"He didn't." Harry grabbed another parchment and held them side-by-side. "Look, the handwriting's different."

"And your one is signed by him…" Rose realised. "Then who wrote this?"

Harry straightened as a thought occurred to him. "Rosie, are the Indian and French ministries connected?"

"Yes, technically the Indian ministry is simply an offshoot of the Parisian one. Magical involvement in India didn't end when muggle involvement did- in fact, it expanded."

"So, a portion of India-"

"Is technically considered a French colony, yes." She confirmed. "At least in the magical world. Similar to how magical Europe is divided up differently to muggle. Why?"

"Because it may explain where the metamorphmagus came from."

"You think he or she is Indian, and that's why there are no records of them?"

Harry nodded. "We checked the European and American records but we never went further afield because we didn't think there would be any reason for them to get involved."

Rose had grabbed the parchment and was reading it, occasionally murmuring words under her breath when she couldn't quite understand them.

"It's a fact file." She told her brother distractedly. "It seems to be a list of jobs this man did for Benoit, and what he was paid. But it never says what the jobs were."

"Written by the man himself as a sort of… invoice?"

"Exactly. And look at the money- there are literally hundreds of thousands of galleons involved in each transaction." Rose pointed it out. "What could possibly be worth that much over and over again?"

"Killing a woman through unidentified means?" Harry suggested. It was Rose's turn to stare. "Think about it Rosie. We already know he can move through the ministry with ease, we saw that with our own eyes. It explains perfectly how he was able to get to _maman_ in her own office, and how he was able to avoid rousing suspicion."

She scrubbed a hand over her face. "We need a name… or something. We can't prove any of this, it's all guesswork and supposition. It doesn't help us in the slightest."

Frustration was leaking into her tone, and Harry put his hand gently over hers. "It's more than we had three days ago." He reminded her. She sighed and nodded, and Harry turned back to the paperwork. "If only we had another vault or bank account to compare the numbers against." He sighed. "That would make things easier."

Rose blinked, straightening. "Compare the numbers…" she murmured, then her eyes widened as she gasped. "Harry, that's it!"

"What?"

"Compare the numbers!" she grabbed the parchment and began scanning it rapidly, lips silently moving.

"Compare them against what?" Harry questioned, but received no answer. He resigned himself to waiting until Rosalie had finished, resting his chin on his hand as he watched his sister roughly swipe her hair from her face as she poured over the document.

"I've got it! Harry look!"

She laid it out on the floor and began gesturing to numbers. "Each job has a date, a code which I think references what the job was, a location and then amount paid. See here- the date _maman_ was attacked, then what seem like random numbers and letters, then MFM."

"MFM?

" _Ministère François de la magie_. The location. And then an amount paid. But see- there are amounts scribbled out repeatedly."

"Okay…?" Harry looked baffled.

"Because he didn't kill her." Rose explained. "If he was contracted to, but then didn't, maybe Benoit refused to pay. The amount had to be renegotiated."

"Or she didn't." Harry corrected absently.

"Or she." Rose agreed.

"So this date here…" Harry noted where she had another finger.

"The day I was attacked in the park."

"And this one?"

"The date you and Susan were attacked."

"And this was only a few days ago…"

"The day of the battle of Hogwarts."

Blue eyes met green, and Rosalie smiled grimly, eyes sparking. "We've got it, this is it. A record of the attacks."

"Now we just need to prove Benoit ordered them."

"Before you do that, you can explain what on earth the two of you have done."

Harry and Rose both gasped, twisting quickly towards the sound of the voice. So distracted, they hadn't noticed the wards on the room falling and now Emmeline was standing stunned in the doorway, wand held loosely in her hand.

"How long have you been there for?" Rose asked quickly.

Emmeline narrowed her eyes at them. "Long enough. Now which one of you would like to explain?"

* * *

Emmeline had been both furious and impressed with her children. When they'd first told their story, she'd angrily taken their wands and sent them to their rooms, swearing viciously as soon as they'd gone. But as a few days passed, so too did her anger and fear and she grudgingly admitted that what they'd accomplished was remarkable.

That didn't change the fact she was livid with Harry and Rosalie for putting themselves in danger- she gave them their wands back, but grounded them thoroughly for the foreseeable future. And then the three of them, accompanied by Sirius began to research her boss in detail. However, the one problem they repeatedly returned to was why he had targeted first Emmeline and then later her children.

"It can't be because of a single prank, surely?" Sirius had run his hands through his hair in frustration, eyes narrowing when he saw Rosalie and Harry exchange an unreadable look. "What?"

"We may have played more than a single prank…" Harry admitted sheepishly.

Emmeline narrowed her eyes. "Explain."

"We've played a few on him over the years." Rose bit her lip.

"And how many is a few?"

"Maybe a dozen?" Harry hazarded.

Sirius snorted, but was quickly silenced by a glare from Emmeline.

"Why?" she demanded. "And for that matter, what?"

Rose sighed. "We saw how horrid he was to everyone, and how much he upset you. We didn't do anything too bad, just silly stuff. Like changing his drinks one year with non-alcoholic juice using a switching spell."

"We superglued his office door shut once." Harry remembered.

"That was you?" Emmeline exclaimed, remembering the incident well. They shrugged sheepishly.

"We never hurt anyone though." Rose said. "And nothing we did was bad enough to want to kill us over!"

"What if it was something Emmeline did…?" Sirius suggested.

She frowned. "Something he wanted to kill me over?"

"What if you saw something? Or at least, he thought you did."

"I don't understand-"

But Rose had a look of realisation on her face. "I think I do. You think _maman_ saw something about his illegal activities and he tried to kill her to stop her from talking."

"But I didn't see anything!" Emmeline protested.

Harry tilted his head. "Or you didn't know you did."

She opened her mouth to argue, then closed it again. "Killing over pranks seems ridiculous, but killing to protect a multi-million galleon business… Oh my God."

"That's plausible… that's very plausible." Sirius sat back slightly.

"That's all well and good, but what do we do about it?" Rose questioned.

"Confront him." Emmeline said simply.

"WHAT?" Three voices rang out.

"Do you have any other suggestions?" she inquired pointedly. There was a silence, and she gained a satisfied look on her face. "Well then."

"You're going to confront the man you think tried to murder you?" Rose questioned weakly. "Are you insane?"

Her mother shot her a dry look. "No, I am not. And this needs to end, now. Before either of you two get hurt."

Quick as a flash, she had her wand in her hand and had shot two sleeping spells at both of her children. Sirius shot to his feet, his own wand out.

"What in Merlin's name-?"

"I'd do you too if I thought I was quick enough." She said mildly. He gaped at her.

"I- you- what?" he spluttered.

She smiled fondly. "I know my children, Sirius. They'd never let me do this alone, even if it meant going behind my back which we both know they're perfectly capable of. This way, I know they're safe. Now are you going to help me or are you going to make me stun you?"

Sirius stared at her for a long moment. "I'll help."


	49. Chapter 49

_**Thank you to everyone who reviewed! We're almost there, one more after this! Tell me what you think? X**_

Emmeline strode through the ministry, Sirius easily keeping pace. A few times, people would jolt in recognition and some even called out to her, but she merely gave them a polite smile and nod and didn't slow down even a little. Almost on autopilot, she found herself back in the very department she used to work in and knocking on her boss's door.

"Emmeline!" The man in question looked startled for only the briefest of moments, and then a smile masked his expression. "This is a pleasant surprise!"

"I'm sure." She deadpanned, stepping in so that Sirius could shut the door behind them. "We need to talk."

"Of course, of course! But first, how are you?" He gestured for her to take a seat, smiling benignly at her.

"Confused." She answered shortly, crossing her legs as she settled into the chair. His smile faded slightly.

"Confused?"

"That's right."

He blinked, but when she didn't elaborate a baffled expression crept over his face. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand..."

"No, neither do I." She agreed. "In fact, I'm utterly baffled about what it was I saw or heard that made me such a danger to you that you attempted to have me killed."

There was a beat of silence.

"I see." Benoit said eventually. "That is... unfortunate, that you know that."

"Tell me. Because I don't know." Emmeline leaned forward, anger flashing in her eyes. Benoit regarded her coolly.

"It's a shame Emmeline. You could have gone far in this department." He murmured, but she was more focused on the almost imperceptible tensing of the muscles in his arm. She shifted slightly, crossing her legs and of course it was complete coincidence that her hand ended up resting on her wand. "But now…"

"Now? You've already tried to kill me multiple times!"

He adopted an innocent look. "Me? I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"You may not have had the wand in your hand but you orchestrated the whole thing!" Emmeline snapped. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that you will not try again?"

"Emmeline." He smiled. "I'm sure we could come to a… mutually beneficial arrangement."

Emmeline let out a humourless laugh, leaning forward and sobering rapidly. "Your problem, _Monsieur Benoit_ , is that if you had simply targeted me, I would have merely turned you over to the ministry and let them deal with you. But you did not. You went after my children, and that is something I will never abide."

Understanding flashed across his face and Emmeline flew into action, her wand swiping up just as Benoit drew his own and jabbed it at her. Chairs went flying as spells began to sizzle through the air.

Emmeline hissed as one caught her hip, causing her to fly backwards into the wall, winding her. Sirius quickly summoned her towards him, just as a _bombarda_ blasted into where she had been a moment before. Emmeline stumbled into his arms, and to prevent her falling Sirius needed both arms to catch her.

"Why couldn't you just _die?!_ " snarled Benoit through his teeth. He threw three killing curses in quick succession, causing Sirius to lunge to the side, pulling Emmeline with him but wrapped around her as he was, they both tripped and fell to the floor.

"YOU. FIRST." Emmeline set her jaw and pushed herself off of Sirius, transfiguring a set of ropes that leapt up from the floor and wrapped around Benoit's legs, causing him to stumble. Sirius shot off a disarming spell from his place on the floor, scrambling to his feet. Emmeline had grabbed the wand but Benoit pulled a second from a drawer in his desk and Sirius had barely managed to pull her to her feet before he was forced to shove her away, throwing himself backwards to avoid yet another killing curse that came their way.

Benoit threw curse after curse at Emmeline, who barely managed to dodge or conjure other items to block them. But his single-focus allowed Sirius to throw his own curse at Benoit, blasting him backwards against the wall and freeing Emmeline from the bombardment. "Expelliarmus!"

Benoit's second wand flew into Sirius's hand as Emmeline pinned him against the wall.

"You should not have harmed my children!" she hissed out. "Diffindo!"

The curse sliced across his throat, blood spurting out and drenching Emmeline the man spluttered, blood gurgling and spewing up from between his lips and the fingers which clutched at his neck. He stared at her, wide eyed and she gazed right back, panting heavily as she caught her breath.

She watched as Benoit died, his eyes falling out of focus as his hand slipped from his phone to fall limply on his lap. Emmeline's wand fell from her hand as she trembled.

"Sirius!" she gasped in a desperate breath, spinning to face him. He crossed the room in seconds and she fell against him, still shaking.

"People are coming." He realised.

"How could they not?" she croaked. "We made quite a bit of noise."

"Here." Sirius raised his wand and cast a gentle cleaning charm on her, wiping away the blood. She stepped back into his embrace just as the door burst open.

" _Mon dieu…_ " muttered a voice.

"I need to see Rose and Harry." Emmeline mumbled against his neck. He pressed a kiss to her head.

"Leave it to me." He led her to a chair and vanished. Around her, Emmeline could hear voices and talking. At one point, someone placed a blanket around her shoulders and there was a flash of photography. But then, just as she was beginning to feel as if she would scream, Sirius was back.

"Let's go home…" he murmured, helping her up.

"But- I killed him." She whispered.

"In self defence. It's okay- they're allowing us to leave. Come on." He helped her out. On the way, Emmeline felt a hand catch a hold of hers.

"Jean." She smiled weakly. He lifted her hand to press a kiss to the back of it.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'll see you at the academy?"

"Of course. Appolline is there."

Emmeline nodded her understanding, her hand falling to her side once again as Sirius clasped her to him and they made their way out of the ministry.

* * *

Rosalie and Harry were, understandably, furious once they'd awoken and realised what their mother had done. But by that time, she and Sirius had already returned it took the teenagers only once glance to realise that that wasn't the time to confront her about it.

In moments, Appolline and several other women had ushered Sirius and Emmeline into the kitchen, a flurry of activity starting as hot drinks were made and blankets produced. Once everyone was settled, with a calming potion and cup of hot tea inside them Sirius relayed the story of what had happened and Harry found that as much as he hated what his mother had been forced to do, he couldn't bring himself to be sorry that Benoit was dead.

"That's when Jean turned up, and spoke to a few people so we could come home." Finished Sirius.

"Are you going to get in trouble for killing him?" Hermione questioned anxiously. Emmeline and Sirius fell silent, glancing uncertainly at each other. Rosalie paled.

" _Maman_?"

"I don't know." Emmeline answered reluctantly. "I don't think so, but…"

"You don't know." Harry finished.

"I'm sure it will be fine." She smiled, trying to be comforting but the slight tremble that appeared negated that.

" _Oncle Jean_ won't let them do anything, will he?" Rosalie questioned, biting her lip.

Sirius scowled. "It may not be his decision." He pointed out.

"Sirius!" hissed Emmeline.

"Well, it's true!" he defended. "You want me to lie to them?"

"Enough, the pair of you." Minerva cut in, glaring at them. "This isn't helping anything."

Before anyone could say anything else, however, the door burst open and Jean-Claude burst in. "Emmeline!" he exclaimed, before pausing and blinking self consciously when he realised how many pairs of eyes were looking at him.

"What is it, Jean?" Emmeline enquired anxiously.

"Sorry- I spoke to the aurors. Based on the evidence from the room and your wands, they've decided not to press charged depending on the outcome of your interview."

"Interview?" Harry questioned. His uncle nodded.

"It shouldn't be too terrible. As long as what you say doesn't contradict the evidence, nor incriminate you in any way."

"So basically, tell the truth?" Sirius checked. He nodded, but Emmeline didn't look comforted.

"And say what? That my children illegally broke into his office and stole proof that he was a criminal who put a contract out on my life?"

Harry and Rosalie both winced, and blushed when several people in the room turned to look at them.

Jean looked hesitant. "Maybe skip that bit." He advised. Emmeline sighed, rubbing her head.

" _Maman,_ why not simply tell a version of the truth." Rosalie suggested. "You went to speak to him, he mentioned something he couldn't have known about if he hadn't been involved in your attack and when you confronted him he attacked you. It's more an alternative view of things than a lie."

Emmeline stared. "That's… actually not bad." She conceded. A loud clang echoed through the building, causing them all to look up.

"Well, we better hope it works." Sirius said grimly. "Because we have visitors."

There was a flurry of activity as Jean dashed upstairs out of sight, Sirius led Emmeline to a more private location and Tonks went to let their guests through the wards.

Harry reached out, grabbing Rose's hand so tightly it almost hurt. "What do you think?" He murmured.

"I think that we need to look up which countries don't have extradition treaties with magical France." She replied, exchanging a serious look with him. They sat in silence, hearts thumping. At one point, Fleur entered with Gabrielle in tow, the younger dropping into Harry's lap where she curled up, tucking her head under his chin. He smiled slightly, resting his cheek on her as Fleur sat beside him, squeezing his knee comfortingly before slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow.

They waited quietly, all clinging to another in their own way. Each time the door opened they all looked up hopefully, only to flag when it wasn't Emmeline or Sirius. Over an hour later, finally, the door opened to reveal an exhausted looking Sirius.

" _Papa?_ " Rose felt her stomach drop, not realising that she'd convulsively tightened her grip on Harry's hand and was now digging her nails in hard enough to leave marks.

"They brought it." He confirmed.

"Oh, thank Merlin." Harry breathed, sagging in relief. When he felt Rose wrench her hand from his, he looked back up and without thinking, surged to his feet, depositing Gabrielle on Fleur's lap and rushing forward to Emmeline. Rose was already in her arms, and it took a simple shift of weight for her to bring Harry into the hug.

"It's done, it's over?" he demanded. Emmeline nodded, tightening her grip.

"Sirius, get over here."

He did as ordered, grinning as he joined the group hug. "No more assassins, dark lords, homicidal psychopaths in general?" Rose checked. Emmeline snorted a laugh, pressing a kiss to her hair for a moment.

"No. No, it's over. It's over."


	50. Chapter 50

Harry rested against the railing of the building, the setting sun casting an orange haze over the school that sprawled in front of him. Far away, so small they looked like insects, two girls sat close together, heads bent over a textbook. He smiled.

"Hiding again, brother-dear?"

"Reminiscing." He barely looked up as his sister joined him, wrapping an arm around her as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"It's certainly the day for it."

Amusement flashed across his face. "Isn't it?"

They stood in silence, the rapidly cooling air dancing across their skin. Summer was rapidly drawing to a close, warm days now few and far while the nights were noticeably colder. The shrieks of children below disrupted the silence, and Rose let out a laugh.

"You know, I don't think this place is ever quiet."

"Would you want it to be?" Harry pointed out, and she tilted her head slightly.

"I suppose not, no." she agreed. "Come sit with me. I'm tired."

She tugged on his hand, and he willingly followed her to the bench a little way off, wrapping his coat around her before he drew her close, allowing his gaze to wander out over the grounds.

The school had expanded rapidly. The building they were sat on was the original, but within months of the war finishing it had quickly become apparent that it simply wasn't big enough to run a decent school in. They had struggled along for a while, cramming classes and dormitories into any space they could but then summer had arrived, and with it numerous inquiries about the new intake for that September. News of the new school had reached countries across the world and dozens of parents were curious.

Salvation had come in the form of an old office building that backed onto the left corner of the land they already owned. With magic, it was simple to convert it into new dormitories, with a new canteen and medical centre while the original building was used solely for teaching and admin.

Emmeline and Sirius had inadvertently become the heads of the academy, roles they embraced happily. And their partnership had taken the school from strength to strength, until they had more applications to join than they could safely accommodate. Which had led to a three day meeting between many of the original students and teachers to form a school policy, which included a criteria for accepting new students. Those without anywhere permanent to live, or who came from a mixed magical and non-magical families were given priority. Within very little time, even more space was needed and the buildings to the left and directly behind the original building were bought and converted into classrooms, laboratories and a new library.

Emmeline began a personal project as well, buying houses and apartments in the surrounding area and renting them out cheaply to families of pupils, enabling them to attend school without needing to spend months away at a time. This had the knock-on effect of introducing many younger children to the school much earlier and the demand for classes for them was high- land and building to the right of the school were bought and converted to a new primary school, which included a new sports field for both schools to new. It also meant that all the land in that block now belonged to the academy, and people were beginning to notice.

The ministry had kicked up a fuss about maintaining secrecy multiple times, and it seemed that had been the evidence they needed to abolish the academy for good. It had been Rose who had come up with a solution- hide in plain sight. The Cedric Diggory Academy was legally established in both worlds as an elite school which valued the privacy and security of its pupils. It was also advertised in the muggle world as invitation only, and those who still enquired about places were politely but firmly told there was no space to take on new students.

Harry grinned as he recalled all of this- for several decades now, the school had been peaceful and relatively consistent. Changes were small, and tended not to cause waves. The academy remained at the forefront of innovative education; the muggle/magical mix had been copied numerous times in various countries but nowhere near as successfully. He himself had taught there, and had done since he'd completed his mastery in his twenties right up till he retired. His eldest daughter was now headmistress, although he suspected she too would retire soon and pass the responsibility on to a younger, more energetic generation. His smile faded when he thought of her mother though- Fleur had been gone for almost a year now, taken by an illness her ageing body simply didn't have the strength to fight.

They had been married for almost a century, and Harry felt her loss keenly. His hand still reached for hers automatically, every flash of pale blonde hair had him looking up hopefully. They'd had three children, a son followed by two daughters, all a perfect mixture of the pair of them. Privately, Harry wished that Louis James hadn't inherited his hair, if only to spare him the exasperation of having to live with it but couldn't regret that Fleur's eyes gazed from his face. And he was overjoyed when Lily Appolline and Emmeline 'Emmy' Jeanne were both revealed to be their mother's clones in every way but their emerald eyes, despite the three years difference in their ages.

They were all grown up with children of their own now, and downstairs, in the hall which had once served as a headquarters and infirmary, was a party celebrating the birth of Harry's first great-grandchild.

Against his side, Rose was growing heavier, her breathing slowing and evening out. "Harry?" she murmured.

" _Oui?_ " he smiled down at her fondly.

"I don't think I would change any of it for the world… not a thing."

He held her closer, pressing his lips against her head. "Me neither." He whispered. Rose had, to no ones surprise, continued to dance her whole life. After working in Paris for years, she'd spent time in London, New York and Moscow, dancing the lead in dozens of shows. It had been in Russia that she'd met Alexandr. They'd danced around each other for years before marrying. But Rose had struggled to have a child, almost destroying herself in the process. Attempt after attempt ended in heartbreak and grief- Emmeline, Sirius and Harry had all begged her to stop but she wouldn't listen, despite the fact she was tearing herself apart. Anna Heloise had been born two months early after years of trying; Rosalie had been gravely ill during the pregnancy and had almost died during the birth- the first days of her daughter's life had been spent in a coma. But they'd survived, and thrived and Anna followed in her parent's footsteps to become a dancer. She had a child of her own now, Harry reflected, who was now engaged to be married himself.

Harry sighed heavily. Their grandchildren were having children, and he felt old. He and Rose were the only ones left- so many friends and loved ones had moved on, some so long ago it felt like a lifetime. Hermione had remained in France for the rest of her life, marrying a muggleborn she's met through the academy and having two children with him, never allowing her job at the ministry to affect her personal life. In contrast, Neville and Susan had two children who were working in their horticultural and culinary business since they were old enough to walk. Their other friends all remained in France as well- Dean and Seamus had remained at the academy, teaching PE and running various sports clubs, while Luna travelled often but always returned with new stories to tell (her greatest was the one when she explained how she'd left single and returned with a husband and twin babies). The Weasley twins opened a joke shop in _le boulevard_ and had happily raised a new generation of pranksters, albeit the rest of their family never left Britain. And there were so many others, Harry remembered, who over the years had sent their own children and grandchildren to the academy as well.

Rose sighed gently, shifting against him and Harry held her tightly as her eyes drifted closed. "Sleep Rosie." He whispered. "I'm here, and I won't leave you."

"Promise?" she breathed.

"Promise."

A faint smile crossed her lips, and she exhaled gently.

Exhaustion settled into Harry's bones as the last glimmer of the sun's rays peaked over the rooftops over the surrounding buildings. He really was so, so old- too old, he reflected. The world he now found himself in was unrecognisable. The muggle, more than the magical, had come so far in so short a time that he now found himself thoroughly at odds with the goings on around him, irreparably disconnected from the children who attended the school he'd helped to found. And that was good, he thought to himself, change was good. As long as you remembered what used to be and learnt from that, then moving on was always good.

Oh, and how things had moved on. With every birth, every marriage. Every birthday, Christmas, christening, all had irrevocably changed his life. He was a son, a brother, a husband, father, grandfather and now great-grandfather. A friend, a teacher, an enemy to some. A hero to others.

Somewhere inside, he thought he was still a frightened old man terrified he would drop his grandson. Or the boy kissing the woman who would be his wife for the first time, the first time dad who had no clue what he was doing. Or the son who didn't know how to say goodbye for the final time, or perhaps the frightened eleven year old stepping onto a train.

And perhaps, even deeper inside, he was a petrified six year old who had felt safe for the first time in his life when in the arms of a stranger who would become so important to him.

Harry rested his cheek on the top of Rose's head- her greyed hair tickled slightly as she lay utterly still against him. He was fighting the urge to close his eyes, desperate to see the final moments of the sunset over the horizon of Paris.

As the last vestiges of orange light disappeared, Harry allowed himself to relax and sink into his seat further, mind drifting over all he had done as his eyes closed. For all the mistakes he had made, he couldn't regret the path his life had taken.

He was Harry James Potter-Vance, and against all odds he had done the impossible. He hadn't just survived-

he had _lived._

* * *

 _ **That's it, all done! I started writing this well over eighteen months ago, which is mildly insane. Thank you so much to everyone who has read this, and a massive thanks to those who reviewed and favourited. Some fun facts for you:**_

 _ **\- I started writing this at school, a few months before my exams as a way of relaxing. Since then, i've completed said exams (overcoming major anxiety in the process), finished school, applied for and begun to attend university and begun my placements in a hospital.**_

 _ **\- Originally, Rose was going to die in the final battle, and her death serve as a catalyst for Harry to kill Voldemort. However, I became rather attached to her character and felt that with the way i'd written their relationship, Harry was more likely to shut down than go on a rampage.**_

 _ **\- My original, very rough plan consisted of twenty chapters... hahaha.**_

 _ **\- I began three drafts, each with Harry attending different schools. Eventually, I flipped a coin.**_

 ** _\- I considered having Rose and Neville end up together but decided it was too obvious in the end._**

 ** _\- I wrote a draft in which Emmeline killed Voldemort protecting Harry, but decided Harry doing it made more sense._**

 ** _There were more, but I don't want to bore you. Thank you all! X_**


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